“We must escape before it’s too late
"我们必须趁早逃走
Find a way to save the day”
想办法拯救世界"
When I’d left Stable 99, it’d been with the intention of leading Deus away and saving my home. Over time, I’d been drawn into a web of secrets and backroom dealings culminating in the mysterious Project Horizons. It was surreal to think that something created two centuries ago, in the madness of that war, might now annihilate everything that I held dear. Yet, day by day, struggle by struggle, I’d drawn ever closer to the truth. And now, I had it.
当我离开Stable99的时候，我的目的是带领Deus离开，拯救我的家。随着时间的推移，我被卷入了一系列秘密和幕后交易之中，这些交易最终以神秘的"地平线计划"告终。想到两个世纪前在战争的疯狂中创造出来的东西现在可能会毁灭我所珍视的一切，真是超现实主义。然而，一天又一天，一次又一次的挣扎，我离真相越来越近了。现在，我拥有了它。
For all the good it did me.
尽管这对我有好处。
“You put a star spirit in a giant rock you’re going to fling at Equestria? That’s what all the fuss is about?” I asked, feeling oddly deflated. He gave a silent, shameful nod. Really… this was just… what? “How? Why?”
"你把一颗星星的灵魂放在一块你要扔到Equestria去的巨石上？这就是大惊小怪的原因?"我问道，奇怪地感到泄气。他无声地羞愧地点了点头。真的...这只是...什么？"怎么回事？为什么?"
He waved his hoof, and suddenly a unicorn blank appeared in the void around us. Then cybernetics appeared around its head and magically merged in without any of the meaty, bloody action I was familiar with in the real cyberization process. “Instead of trying to send actual personnel to the moon,” Goldenblood began, “who could have learned of Horizons and disabled it, we programmed the mechasprites to build a Tree of Life and cybernetics facilities.” Images of the golden Project Chimera tree and the cyberization machine I’d used in Shadowbolt Tower appeared. “In another rocket, we sent up a large supply of Flux and a unicorn template–”
他挥动着他的蹄子，突然一个独角兽的空白出现在我们周围的空白。然后控制论出现在它的头部，并且魔法般地融入其中，而没有任何我熟悉的真实的控制过程中的血腥的行动。"我们没有试图将真正的人员送上月球,"金血王开始说,"谁可能知道地平线号的存在并使它失效，我们把机器人程序设计成建造一棵生命之树和控制论设施。"金色的奇美拉项目树和我在影螺塔中使用的控制机器的图像出现了。在另一枚火箭上，我们发射了大量的通量和一个独角兽模板
“And used computer-controlled Flux clones to build the gun,” I interrupted. “You said that. What does that have to do with putting a star spirit in Tom?”
"然后用计算机控制的弗拉克斯克隆人造了这把枪,"我打断了他。"你说过的。这和给汤姆注入明星精神有什么关系呢?"
“Unicorn Flux clones,” he said, rather annoyed. “The mechasprites built the gun. We used the clones to enact rituals uncovered by Rarity in the course of Project Eternity. While Rarity never let me study the Black Book directly, I did have exclusive access to all her research notes. That, along with other lore she’d confiscated from libraries and zebras all across Equestria, allowed us to work out how to make the blanks draw in a star spirit and bind it to the stone.”
"独角兽通量克隆,"他说，相当恼火。"机械兵团制造了这把枪。我们利用克隆人来进行一些仪式，这些仪式都是在永恒之柱的过程中由蕾妮发现的。虽然蕾妮从不让我直接研究《黑皮书》，但我确实可以独家获取她所有的研究笔记。再加上她从Equestria各地的图书馆和斑马那里没收来的其他知识，让我们能够研究出如何让空格画出一颗星星的灵魂，并把它绑在石头上。"
“And this spirit was okay with this?” I asked skeptically.
"这个灵魂对此没有意见?"我怀疑地问道。
“I don’t know, actually. I expected more of a struggle, but the spirit seemed to allow itself to be placed in the stone. At the time, I naively assumed that it was unaware of the ritual’s ultimate purpose until too late. Now… I simply don’t know,” he said as more windows opened showing fifty augmented blanks casting magic around the colossal wad of moonstone that was Tom.
"实际上，我不知道。我还以为会有更多的挣扎，但是灵魂似乎允许自己被安置在石头里。当时，我天真地以为它不知道仪式的最终目的，直到为时已晚。现在......我就是不知道，他说，随着更多的窗户打开，五十个增强的空包弹在巨大的月光石上施展魔法，那就是汤姆。
Then the visual aids disappeared, and he looked away. “As for the second part of your question... the why…” He paused, then gritted his teeth as if admitting a shameful perversion. “I was… manipulated. I let myself be manipulated,” he spat in disgust.
然后视觉辅助设备消失了，他把目光移开了。"至于你问的第二部分......为什么......"他停顿了一下，然后咬紧牙关，好像承认了一个可耻的变态行为。"我被操纵了。我让自己被操纵了,"他厌恶地啐了一口。
Really? I couldn’t help myself from snorting out a short laugh. “You? You were manipulated?”
真的吗？我忍不住发出一阵短促的笑声。""你呢？你被操纵了?"
“Yes, Blackjack. Me.” He summoned a window showing the scene in the bar with Twilight. “When I left that day, I knew that something had to be done to protect Equestria from the possibility of a victorious Princess Luna turning tyrant, but I had no idea what. I didn't immediately start intensive work on the problem, either; I kept it in mind, but I devoted most of the time I could spare from more mundane matters to assisting Twilight with Gardens and keeping it secret from others. But as Gardens progressed, I was struck by inspiration.” A window appeared showing Horse’s lab. The Goldenblood there levitated the tuning fork, struck it against the counter, and held it to his ear.
"是的，黑杰克。我。"他召唤了一扇窗户，上面显示着酒吧里有《暮光之城》的场景。"当我那天离开的时候，我知道必须采取一些措施来保护小马国，以防止获胜的卢娜公主变成暴君，但我不知道该怎么做。我也没有立即开始对这个问题进行深入细致的研究;我把这个问题牢记在心，但是我把大部分的时间从更多的日常事务中抽出来，用来帮助《暮光之城的花园》，并对其他人保密。但随着花园的发展，我被灵感打动了。"出现了一个窗口，显示马的实验室。金色的血液悬浮起音叉，把它撞在柜台上，放在耳边。
My eyes widened. “The starmetal.”
我的眼睛睁大了。"星铁"
“It spoke to me on a subliminal level. Nothing so crude as mind control, but it was suggestive. Over time, I believe, it inspired me. The binding of the star spirit was the last inspiration I received.” He rubbed his face. “Then… the war turned bad. I was fully occupied with just keeping Equestria from flying apart. Worse, I struggled with fear, paranoia, and anger. As you saw with Pinkie Pie.”
"它在潜意识层面上对我说话。没有什么比精神控制更粗鲁的了，但是它很有启发性。随着时间的推移，我相信，它激励了我。星星精神的束缚是我最后的灵感。"他揉了揉脸。"然后......战争变糟了。我完全忙于防止Equestria四分五裂。更糟糕的是，我与恐惧、偏执和愤怒作斗争。就像你看到小指派一样。"
I nodded a little. “I thought you were a little more… well… violent than usual.”
我点了点头。"我觉得你比平时更...呃...暴力一点。"
“It couldn’t be helped,” he said. “I was so angry at her constant meddling and interference. Unreasonably so. I’d always handled Pinkie by letting her catch the violent criminals and the overtly corrupt. The bad ponies. But towards the end, I hated her.” He paused. “No. I hated her Pinkie Sense. Her… her meddling.”
"这是无可奈何的,"他说。"我对她不断的干涉和干涉感到非常生气。这是不合理的。我总是通过让她抓住那些暴力罪犯和公然腐败的人来处理平奇的事情。坏小马。但到最后，我还是恨她。"他停顿了一下。"没有。我讨厌她的小指感觉。她...她多管闲事。"
I remembered Amadi’s rant against Discord. “Why did what she said... Why did you react like that?”
我想起了阿马迪反对不和谐的咆哮。"为什么她说的那些话......为什么你会有那样的反应?"
He closed his eyes, and a window appeared of a kindly white unicorn mare in a pith helmet. “My mother, Sundancer, took me all across the world.” Images appeared and disappeared of the colt and mare travelling across burning deserts, through sweltering jungles, and into ancient ruins. “She was protecting me from my father’s abuse, but I didn’t realize that at the time. We explored the zebra lands extensively, and my life was filled primarily with the wonder of learning. However…”
他闭上眼睛，一个窗口出现了一只和蔼的白色独角兽母马在髓盔。"我的母亲，太阳舞者，带着我环游世界。"小马和母马穿越燃烧的沙漠，穿过闷热的丛林，进入古代废墟的图像出现又消失。"她在保护我免受父亲的虐待，但当时我并没有意识到这一点。我们广泛地探索了斑马地，我的生活主要充满了学习的奇迹。然而......"
The window expanded till I was pulled into it. I found myself in a room reeking of incense, sweat, and bodily waste. A sickly unicorn mare lay in a bed, surrounded by zebra doctors. There were masks adorning the walls, flowers in pots, and all sorts of bottles of potions on shelves. The wasted mare muttered softly, writhing in agony as the half dozen zebras and three ponies in the room looked on. One of the ponies, I was astonished to see, was the maroon-colored Trueblood. At the bed’s edge knelt a white-coated colt, his eyes red with weeping, and by the wall stood a younger Scruffy sadly watching the scene.
窗户扩大了，直到我被拉进去。我发现自己在一个充满熏香、汗水和废物的房间里。一匹病怏怏的独角兽母马躺在床上，周围都是斑马医生。墙上装饰着面具，花盆里摆放着鲜花，架子上摆放着各种各样的药瓶。那匹废弃的母马轻轻地咕哝着，在房间里六匹斑马和三匹小马的注视下痛苦地扭动着。我惊奇地发现，其中一匹小马是栗色的真血。床沿上跪着一匹白毛小马，它的眼睛哭得通红，墙边站着一匹年轻的斯克拉菲正悲伤地看着这一幕。
“My mother had a terminal growth in her brain. Despite their skill and knowledge, there are limits to what the healers’ magic could do,” Goldenblood said beside me, gravely regarding the scene before us. “Mother fought for six months, alternating between lucid agony and delusional rambling, before the pain became too much for her to bear and she stopped fighting.” He pursed his lips, then said, “It was a difficult death.”
"我母亲的大脑已经发育到了晚期。尽管他们的技能和知识，但是治疗师的魔法是有限度的。"金血王在我旁边说，严肃地看着我们面前的场景。"母亲挣扎了六个月，在清醒的痛苦和妄想的胡言乱语之间交替，直到她忍受不了疼痛，停止了挣扎。"他噘起嘴唇，然后说:"这是一个艰难的死亡。"
“Arrhythmia,” noted a zebra with a stethoscope. “It won’t be long now.”
"心律不齐,"一只斑马用听诊器注意到。"不会太久了。"
“You can’t do anything for her?” colt-Goldenblood asked with a resigned sadness I’d rarely encountered in one so young.
"你不能为她做点什么吗?"金布拉德带着一种无可奈何的悲伤问道，这是我在这么年轻的孩子身上很少遇到的。
“We’ve given as much of the poppy tears as we can,” another zebra said,
另一只斑马说:"我们已经尽可能多地给他们罂粟花了。"
checking the bottles. “Any more, and… well…” She trailed off, meeting the unicorn colt’s sad eyes, then looking away shamefacedly. “Might be a mercy to do so anyway.”
检查瓶子。"还有......好吧......"她慢慢地走开了，看到了独角兽小马悲伤的眼神，羞愧地把目光移开。"无论如何，这样做可能是一种仁慈。"
“No,” his mother groaned. She shuddered in pain, twisting her forehooves around the sweaty sheet. “I need to talk to him. Alone.” A feverish citrine eye stared at those assembled. “Thank you for all your hard work. I’ll take it from here.”
"不,"他的母亲呻吟着。她疼得发抖，前蹄在汗湿的床单上扭来扭去。"我需要和他谈谈。一个人。"一只发烧的黄晶般的眼睛盯着聚集在一起的人。"谢谢你们的辛勤工作。接下来交给我吧。"
One by one, the zebras threaded out, followed by Trueblood. The scruffy brown unicorn stallion hesitated, then nodded respectfully at the mare, patted the colt on the shoulder, and left the room, closing the door behind him. Goldenblood climbed slowly onto the bed and embraced the mare. “I don’t want you to die, Momma.”
一个接一个，斑马穿过队伍，紧随其后的是特鲁布拉德。那匹脏兮兮的棕色独角兽犹豫了一下，然后恭恭敬敬地对那匹母马点点头，拍拍小马的肩膀，走出了房间，随手关上了门。金血王慢慢地爬上床，拥抱了母马。"我不想你死，妈妈。"
“I know, my dearest, but it’s time. I’m so sorry,” she said as she held him. “You’re such a fine boy. So handsome, like your father, but so much kinder.” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she whimpered in pain and grief. After a moment without any other sounds save the colt’s sniffly breathing, she said, “I’ve made arrangements for your return to Equestria. It’s a beautiful land. Your aunt Celestia will see to it that you’re cared for.”
""我知道，亲爱的，但是时候到了。我很抱歉,"她一边抱着他一边说。"你真是个好孩子。很英俊，像你父亲一样，但是很善良。"她在痛苦和悲伤中呜咽着，泪水顺着脸颊滚落下来。过了一会儿，除了小马抽噎的呼吸声，没有其他任何声音，她说:"我已经为你回Equestria做好了安排。这是一片美丽的土地。你的阿姨塞莱斯蒂娅会照顾好你的。"
Goldenblood wept as he held her, and she murmured over and over, “Shh. Shh,” and, “It’s alright.” But as she stroked his mane, I saw her face twist and contort. Her hooves grew tighter around his neck as they started to shake.
金布拉德一边抱着她一边哭泣，她一遍又一遍地喃喃自语:"嘘。"嘘"和"没关系"但是当她抚摸他的鬃毛时，我看到她的脸扭曲着。她的蹄子开始抖动，紧紧地绕在他的脖子上。
He grunted and tried to pull away. “Momma! You’re hurting me!” he cried out.
他咕哝了一声，试图抽身离开。"妈妈！你弄疼我了!"他大声喊道。
“Shut up!” she hissed, spraying spit as her hooves tightened even more. “You’re a horrible child! A monster! I know what you’re going to do! Who you are going to serve!” She screamed. I lunged forward, trying to pull her legs off from around the boy’s neck, but my hooves passed through her as if through mist.
"闭嘴!"她发出嘶嘶声，蹄子越收越紧，唾沫四溅。"你真是个讨厌的孩子！一个怪物！我知道你要干什么！你要为谁服务呢!"她尖叫着。我扑向前，试图把她的腿从男孩的脖子上扯下来，但是我的蹄子穿过了她，好像穿过了薄雾。
Fortunately, the zebras who stormed in did pry her legs off the child. She screamed, flailing her legs against them as the colt was pulled back into Scruffy’s protective embrace. “No! He has to die! He serves the Eater! He serves the Eater of Souls! He’ll kill us all!” she howled with blood on her lips, the hanging bottles seeming to ring in sympathy. The scene faded from view.
幸运的是，闯进来的斑马把她的腿从孩子身上撬开了。当小马驹被拉回到斯克拉菲保护性的拥抱中时，她尖叫着，用腿抽打着它们。"不！他必须死！他服侍食者！他为灵魂食者服务！他会杀了我们所有人!"她嘴唇上沾满了鲜血，嚎叫着，悬挂着的瓶子似乎在同情地响着。景色逐渐从人们的视线中消失。
Goldenblood hadn’t moved. He gazed passively at nothing as if still seeing that
金血王一动不动。他消极地无动于衷地看着什么，好像还能看见那东西似的
horrible room. “She took a few more minutes to die. At the time, I was told it was the pain and the poppy tears that had made her try and kill me. For a while, I even forgot what she’d said. Let my fond memories bury those terrible seconds.”
可怕的房间。"她又过了几分钟才死去。当时，我被告知是疼痛和罂粟花的眼泪让她试图杀死我。有一阵子，我甚至忘了她说了什么。让我美好的回忆埋葬那些可怕的时光吧。"
“Then Pinkie Pie said the exact same thing,” I said in understanding. “Do you think your mother saw, somehow…?”
"然后平奇·派说了一模一样的话,"我理解地说。"你觉得你妈妈看到了吗?"
“I don’t know,” Goldenblood replied, and then the emaciated mare reappeared, standing still as a statue. Pinkie Pie appeared on her left. Discord on her right. An old, decrepit zebra with facial tattoos like Amadi’s appeared next to Pinkie, clutching a black book to his chest. “There’s been no lack of people claiming to know the events of the future. The sick. The odd. The alien. The mad. All are rumored to have insights that most ponies scoff at.” He glanced at me and gave me a small smile. “Or are you one of those who thinks it’d be wonderful to know the future?”
"我不知道,"金血王回答，然后那匹瘦弱的母马又出现了，像一尊雕像一样静静地站着。小派出现在她的左边。她右边不和。在小指旁边出现了一只年迈衰老的斑马，脸上有像阿马迪一样的纹身，手里紧紧抓着一本黑色的书放在胸前。"并不缺少声称知道未来事件的人。病人。奇怪的是。外星人。疯子。据传闻，所有这些赛马都有深刻见解，而大多数小马都对此嗤之以鼻。"他瞥了我一眼，对我微微一笑。"或者，你是那种认为知道未来会很美好的人吗?"
“Nah. That’d take all the surprise out of life,” I replied honestly. “Granted, I would have liked to know about Cognitum before I left 99, and that Rivets hadn’t purged the system… EC-1101… you…” I trailed off, frowning. “I guess what would really matter is whether I could change those or not, though.”
"没有。那样的话，生活中所有的惊喜都消失了,"我诚实地回答。"当然，我想在离开99号公路之前了解一下Cognitum，而且铆钉没有清除系统...EC-1101...你..."我皱着眉头慢吞吞地走开了。"不过，我想真正重要的是，我能否改变这些规则。"
“And that’s the nightmare. Knowing what will happen and being powerless to change it.” He shook his head. “We like to believe that we have free will. That we are in control of our destinies. Then we find out that we have far less control than we’d like.”
"这就是噩梦。知道会发生什么，却无力改变。"他摇了摇头。"我们愿意相信我们有自由意志。我们的命运掌握在自己手中。然后我们发现，我们的控制力远远低于我们希望的水平。"
“You were manipulated by the Eater?” I asked.
"你被食人魔操纵了?"我问道。
“By many ponies. I thought myself a fine puppeteer and thus made myself the best kind of puppet. Luna and Fluttershy managed me far better than I ever realized. And, of course, the Eater.” He sat and rubbed his face again. “The Eater. No great hammer of mental domination for me and others to see and fight against. No seizing control of me and then blacking out my memory once I'd done its work. So subtle. The work under Hoofington. The slow evolution of the idea of a failsafe to check Luna into… more. Maybe the plans were mine after all. I've spent two hundred years being tormented by that thought. Blaming the Eater feels like an excuse. But the binding of the star spirit… that, I think, that was certainly from the Eater, however far it had to take me to get to that point.”
""有许多小马。我认为自己是一个很好的木偶师，因此把自己变成了最好的木偶。卢娜和弗特希对我的管理比我想象的要好得多。当然，还有食者。"他坐了下来，又揉了揉脸。"食人者。没有强大的精神支配之锤供我和其他人去看和对抗。没有抓住我的控制权，然后一旦我完成它的工作就把我的记忆抹去。太微妙了。胡芬顿手下的工作。一个故障保险检查露娜的想法慢慢演变成...更多。也许这个计划最终还是我的。200年来，我一直被这个想法折磨着。责备Eater感觉像是一个借口。但是星之精神的束缚......我想，那一定是来自于食者，不管我要走多远才能到达那一点。"
“Why?” I asked. “Why would it want a star spirit?”
"为什么?"我问道。"它为什么想要一颗星星的灵魂?"
“I suspect that ‘Eater of Souls’ is a slight misnomer. Or, rather, an accurate name that gives a false impression. I think that the souls the Eater truly feeds on are those of stars, not mere ponies and zebras. If I’m right, the spirit in Tom will be enough to restore it to its full life and power, doing in an instant what it would take an uncountable number of mortal souls to accomplish. It would rise and consume Equus, the sun, and the moon to add to its mass, and it would return to perpetrating destruction on a scale quite possibly beyond our ability to imagine. And that is why I am now sure that the Eater of Souls, whether some ancient demon from the void or a machine of staggering complexity and terrible purpose, is every bit the horror the legends claim.”
"我怀疑'食魂者'这个名字有点用词不当。或者，更确切地说，一个给人错误印象的准确的名字。我认为食者真正吃的是星星的灵魂，而不仅仅是小马和斑马。如果我是正确的，汤姆的精神将足以使它恢复其完整的生命和力量，并在一瞬间完成需要无数人类灵魂才能完成的事情。它将上升并吞噬马、太阳和月亮，以增加它的质量，而且它将以我们无法想象的规模再次犯下毁灭性的罪行。这就是为什么我现在确信灵魂的食者，无论是来自虚空的古代恶魔，还是一台具有惊人复杂性和可怕目的的机器，每一点都是传说中的恐怖。"
“Cognitum is sure it can be used safely,” I pointed out… but I didn’t really believe she was right. I’d heard the voice from the pit.
"Cognitum确信它可以安全地使用,"我指出......但我并不真的相信她是正确的。我听到了来自深渊的声音。
"Well… the data available to me is limited. She has had much longer to study the Eater itself than I did, and I have only been able to steal a small part of what she's found. I suppose there's a small chance that she could be right. Hmph. What has the world come to when ‘Insane computer uses giant alien artifact to take over world!’ is one of the better possible headlines?" The tiny spark of levity died. "If she's right, if Amadi is just a deluded fool worshiping a machine, she will sweep around the world unstoppably, eliminating 'destructive and unnecessary' free will and the vagaries of personality flaws with cybernetics and mind magic. Equus will survive, will appear to thrive, and there will be no difference between the ponies and the robots. If, as I think, she’s wrong, and those centuries of studying the Eater have also been centuries for it to fool her into thinking that she could use it, she will resurrect the most destructive being in the history of Equus. Perhaps even the universe; I shudder to think of what might be out there worse than the Eater of Souls."
"嗯......我能得到的数据是有限的。她研究食人者本身的时间比我长得多，而我只能偷到她发现的一小部分。我想她有一点点可能是对的。哼。当"疯狂的电脑使用巨大的外星人工件控制世界"时，世界会变成什么样子是最好的头条新闻吗?"微小的轻浮的火花熄灭了。"如果她是对的，如果阿马迪只是一个迷惑的、崇拜机器的傻瓜，她将不可阻挡地席卷全世界，消除'破坏性和不必要的'自由意志和人格缺陷的变幻莫测，控制论和思想魔法。马会生存下来，看起来会茁壮成长，小马和机器人之间也不会有什么区别。如果，像我想的那样，她是错的，那么几个世纪以来对食者的研究也已经愚弄了她几个世纪，使她认为她可以使用它，她将复活马科斯历史上最具破坏性的生物。也许甚至是宇宙，我一想到外面还有什么比灵魂食者更可怕，就不寒而栗。"
I sighed and rubbed my face. If Cognitum failed and Tom missed Hoofington, it would kill everyone around where it landed, at least, and could kill everyone on Equus if it hit hard enough. Maybe if it hit the ocean… would that be better? Or would a great big rock in a great big ocean make a great big wave? Ugh, smart pony questions. Either way, that was bad too. If Cognitum succeeded and was right, she'd take over and lobotomize everyone on the planet. If Cognitum succeeded and Amadi was right, the Eater of Souls would… well, eat the world. Only one good option...
我叹了口气，揉了揉脸。如果科宁顿失败了，汤姆又没打中胡芬顿，它至少会在着陆点附近杀死所有人，如果它打得足够重的话，还会杀死马上的所有人。也许如果它掉到海里...会更好？或者一块巨大的岩石在一个巨大的海洋里会形成一个巨大的波浪？呃，聪明的小马问题。不管怎样，这也很糟糕。如果认知神经系统成功并且正确的话，她会接管并且对这个星球上的每一个人进行脑叶切除术。如果科格尼图姆成功了，阿玛迪是对的，灵魂的食者将......嗯，吃掉整个世界。只有一个好办法..。
“You need to help me stop Horizons,” I summarized. That was all there was to it.
"你得帮我阻止地平线,"我总结道。仅此而已。
“I cannot,” he said with simple resignation. “The firing system is a copy of my own synaptic net. It will wait until the moon is perfectly aligned, then fire. I can’t order it to stop. When Princess Luna arrested me, my back door to the system was blocked.”
"我不能,"他简单地无可奈何地说。"点火系统是我自己突触网络的复制品。它会等到月球完全排成一直线，然后开火。我不能命令它停下来。当卢娜公主逮捕我时，我的系统后门被堵住了。"
“Then you need to go with me to the moon and find some other way,” I said. Of course, that was skipping the step of getting out of the shadows... which meant getting out of this mindscape first… and the problem of actually getting to the moon...
"那么你需要和我一起去月球，找到其他的方法,"我说。当然，这是跳过了走出阴影的步骤...这意味着首先要走出这个心境...和真正到达月球的问题..。
He interrupted my thoughts with a chuckle. “Unfortunately, you’re missing the fact that you have to kill me. You’re my executioner.”
他咯咯笑了一声，打断了我的思路。"不幸的是，你忽略了一个事实，那就是你必须杀了我。你是我的刽子手。"
“No,” I contradicted flatly.
"不,"我直截了当地反驳道。
“You must,” he countered. The bastard sounded almost happy, a shadow of a smile playing in the corners of his mouth.
"你必须这么做,"他反驳道。那个混蛋听起来几乎很高兴，嘴角闪过一丝笑意。
“I’m. Not. An. Executioner,” I snapped, poking him in the chest sharply with each word. “I don’t decide who dies because I think they should. I don’t do that.” He froze for a moment, and then his eyes narrowed.
""是的。没有。一个。刽子手,"我厉声说，一个字一个字地戳他的胸口。"我不能决定谁会死，因为我认为他们应该死。我不这么做。"他愣了一会儿，然后眯起眼睛。
“That seems… both hypocritical and somewhat cowardly,” he pointed out as he regarded me flatly. “You decide that ponies deserve to die all the time. The ponies you’ve killed didn’t throw themselves on your bullets. You chose to shoot them. You could have run. You could have surrendered. Instead, you resorted to violence. You might call it ‘self-defense’ but your self-defense is exceptionally hazardous to those who challenge it.”
"这看起来......既虚伪又有点懦弱,"他直截了当地看着我指出。"你总是认为小马应该死去。你杀死的那些小马驹不会投靠你的子弹。你选择了射杀他们。你本可以逃跑的。你本可以投降的。相反，你诉诸于暴力。你可以称之为'正当防卫'，但你的正当防卫对于挑战它的人来说是异常危险的。"
I turned away. “I don’t care. I’m not an executioner. Do you understand?” Before me appeared an image of the Fluttershy Medical Center. Me, Glory, and P-21 staring at the terminal screen surrounded by all the pods. “What… what are you doing? Stop it!”
我转过身去。"我不在乎。我不是刽子手。你明白吗?"在我面前出现了一张Fluttershy医疗中心的照片。我、晨辉和P-21盯着被所有吊舱包围的终端屏幕。"你...你在干什么？住手!"
“I’m not doing anything,” Goldenblood replied. “This is all you.”
"我什么也没做,"金血王回答。"都是你的功劳。"
The younger me turned her head and regarded me. “What am I except an executioner? I made the choice to pull the plug. I didn’t explore any other options.”
年轻的我转过头来看着我。""我不是刽子手吗？我选择了拔掉插头。我没有探索其它选择。"
“Shut up,” I said as I tried to back away, but of course, this was in my head. The scene moved to follow me. “I didn’t have any other choice.”
"闭嘴,"我一边说一边试图后退，但当然，这只是我脑子里的想法。这个场景跟着我移动了。"我别无选择。"
Glory looked at me flatly. “That’s not true. You could have left them alone. Tasked the Collegiate with screening them and weeding out the deadliest ones.”
晨辉直截了当地看着我。"不是这样的。你本可以不管他们的。学院的任务是筛选他们，淘汰那些最致命的。"
P-21 glowered at me. “Or you could have chosen not to choose. Leave it up to Glory or me. We might not have been happy with that, but it would have been on us. Not you.”
P-21怒视着我。"或者你可以选择不去选择。交给晨辉或者我来处理。我们可能对此并不满意，但这一切都会发生在我们身上。而不是你。"
I covered my face in my hooves. “Shut up!” I shouted. “Why are you even talking to me? I thought you were supposed to be tormenting him!” I pointed a hoof in the general direction of Goldenblood without looking at the image.
我用蹄子捂住脸。"闭嘴!"我喊道。"你为什么要跟我说话？我还以为你要折磨他呢!"我指了指Goldenblood的大致方向，没有看图片。
“You’re in a therapeutic mindscape repurposed for interrogation. Did you think yourself exempt?” Goldenblood replied wryly. “I’ve endured decades of this and worse. Watching Fluttershy die. Reject me. Kill herself for giving up megaspells.” He shook for a moment like a sheet caught in a stiff wind. “Yes, the program was fond of that one for almost twenty years. But any pain grows numb when it’s been endured long enough.”
"你在一个用于审讯的心理治疗场所。你认为你自己是例外吗?"金色血液苦笑着回答。"我已经忍受了几十年这种情况，甚至更糟。看着萤火虫死去。拒绝我。因为出卖了megaspells而自杀。"他颤抖了一会儿，就像一张被狂风吹起的床单。"是的，这个节目喜欢这个节目将近20年了。但如果忍受的时间够长，任何疼痛都会变得麻木。"
“Damn you. You like this,” I growled at him.
"去你的。"你喜欢这个,"我对他咆哮道。
“Well, I am trying to get you to kill me,” he said with that rasping chuckle. “And it’s hardly as if this is the only time you’ve been an executioner.” The hospital room around me disappeared, and I was surrounded by my stable. I stood in the Overmare’s office, my hoof over the button, looking down into the atrium.
"好吧，我是想让你杀了我,"他咯咯地笑着说。"而且这几乎不是你唯一一次当刽子手。"我周围的病房消失了，我被我的马厩包围着。我站在Overmare的办公室里，蹄子跨过按钮，向下看着中庭。
How’d I know he’d bring me here? “You’re wasting your time. I’m over this,” I said flatly, pulling my hoof away from the button and turning my face away so I didn’t see those still forms. That didn’t stop me from smelling that chlorine reek.
我怎么知道他会带我来这里？"你在浪费时间。我受够了,"我直截了当地说，把我的蹄子从按钮上挪开，把脸转过去，这样我就看不见那些静止的形状了。但我还是闻到了氯气的臭味。
“Over this?” Midnight asked as the black unicorn appeared before me, her kissable mouth covered in foam. “How do you get over this, exactly? How does anypony get over this?”
"为了这个?"当黑色的独角兽出现在我面前时，午夜问道，她令人想亲吻的嘴唇上覆盖着泡沫。"你到底是怎么熬过来的？怎样才能克服这个问题呢?"
“I know that I caused this,” Rivets said as the old gray mare appeared next to Midnight. “But did you even try and talk to us? Work out who else might not be infected? Gave us a choice?”
"我知道这是我造成的,"铆钉说，作为老灰色母马出现在旁边的午夜。""但是你有没有试着和我们说话呢？找出还有谁可能没有被感染？给了我们一个选择?"
“I was going to die with them,” I said, fighting to keep myself calm.
"我要和他们一起死,"我说，努力让自己保持冷静。
“So the mass slaughter of hundreds is okay so long as you’re one of them?” Midnight said contemptuously. “That’s Goldenblood’s logic.”
"所以只要你是他们中的一员，成百上千的大屠杀就可以了?"午夜轻蔑地说。"这就是金血王的逻辑。"
“I didn’t have a choice! The virus was making you increasingly paranoid! Any day, you would have started eating each other!” I snapped.
"我别无选择！病毒让你变得越来越偏执！任何一天，你们都会开始吃对方!"我厉声说道。
“Oh?” Rivets asked. “Did you ask the ponies in medical? Call out to the Collegiate? Tell Glory?” That last one made me wince, and Rivets took in an eager breath. “Oooh. If what you did was so right, why keep it to yourself?”
"哦?"铆钉问道。""你问过医务室的小马了吗？呼唤大学生？告诉晨辉?"最后一个问题让我退缩，铆钉们急切地吸了一口气。"哦。如果你所做的是正确的，为什么不告诉别人呢?"
“They would have tried to stop me,” I muttered, not looking at them. “They wouldn’t have understood what needed to be done.”
"他们会试图阻止我的,"我咕哝着，没有看他们。"他们不会理解需要做什么。"
“You didn’t even tell Rampage,” sneered Midnight. “Face it. You knew this was wrong. And you did it anyway!”
"你甚至没有告诉狂暴,"午夜冷笑着说。"面对现实吧。你知道这是不对的。但你还是做了!"
“I fucked up!” I roared at both of them. “I’ve admitted it over and over again! I fucked up! I’d give anything to have done it differently. What do you want from me?”
"我搞砸了!"我对他们俩大吼大叫。"我已经承认了一遍又一遍！我搞砸了！我愿意付出一切来换取不同的结果。你想从我这里得到什么?"
“To push the button,” Goldenblood said coolly as he stepped between the pair. “To do what you did then to me now. Kill me. If you could do it to your stable, doing it to me should be foal’s play.”
"去按按钮,"金血王一边走到两人中间，一边冷静地说。"像你以前对我做的那样。杀了我。如果你可以对你的马厩这样做，那么对我这样做应该是小马驹的游戏。"
“No,” I snarled. “I’m not an executioner.” The effort to say that made me shake.
"不,"我咆哮道。"我不是刽子手。"说这话的努力让我发抖。
The stable disappeared, along with Midnight and Rivets, and Goldenblood stood alone before me in the blackness. He eyed me calmly and arched a brow, then asked quietly, “Ever thought that maybe you should be?”
马厩和《午夜》、《铆钉》一起消失了，金色血液孤零零地站在黑暗中。他平静地看着我，挑起眉毛，然后平静地问道:"你有没有想过也许你应该这样?"
Steel Rain appeared, sans armor, just like he’d been outside Blueblood Manor. “If you’d put a bullet in my head then, you might not have been taken by Cognitum.”
钢铁雨出现了，没穿盔甲，就像他在BluebloodManor之外一样。"如果你那时朝我的脑袋开一枪，你也许就不会被科涅图姆带走了。"
Lighthooves appeared next to him with a calm smile. “Yeah. If you just hadn’t been so caught up on me saving Glory, hadn’t let that give you an excuse to overlook what I was doing, you might have saved thousands of lives.”
轻舟出现在他身边，脸上带着平静的微笑。"是的。如果你不是那么着迷于我拯救晨辉，不让那给你一个借口去忽视我正在做的事情，你可能已经拯救了成千上万的生命。"
Four stallions appeared next to him. One leered at me, the one from the bridge over the Hoofington River. “Gotta say, didn’t think you’d be dumb enough to let us walk. I thought we were dead for sure.” He grinned even more. “And the second time we met, you almost couldn’t kill me. Admit it.” He moved around behind me. “Or maybe you wanted another round, like the good little fuckma–”
四匹种马出现在他旁边。其中一个斜眼看着我，那个在胡芬顿河上的桥上。"不得不说，我还以为你不会傻到让我们走呢。我以为我们死定了。"他笑得更厉害了。"我们第二次见面的时候，你差点杀不了我。承认吧。"他在我身后走来走去。"或者你想再来一轮，就像那个可爱的小傻逼..."
A magic bullet blasted his face out of the back of his head and flipped the body over backwards in a spray of gore that vanished as soon as it got more than a yard away. The five ponies remaining clopped their hooves together in applause as I stared at his body. This wasn’t real. That wasn’t real. “That’s the spirit. Now you just have to do it to the pony who matters. One who, as you know better than anypony else living, deserves to die.”
一颗神奇的子弹从他的后脑勺射出，把他的身体翻转过来，溅起一片血迹，一离开一码多就消失了。我凝视着他的尸体，五匹小马齐蹄欢呼。这不是真的。那不是真的。"就是这种精神。现在你只需要对重要的小马这么做。你比任何活着的人都清楚，一个活该死的人。"
I sucked in my breath, feeling my heart thundering in my chest. “No,” I whispered. The clopping stopped, the five gaping at me in bafflement.
我深吸了一口气，感觉我的心在胸膛里轰鸣。"不,"我低声说。打斗停止了，那五个目瞪口呆的人困惑地看着我。
“No?” said Goldenblood. The conjured visions disappeared, and the pale stallion came back into view. “What is the matter with you? I’ve had a long time to analyze ponies, but you might be one of the most perverse cases I’ve seen. Is it because I’m male? Some deep festering guilt over what you did to stallions like P-21 back in your stable? You only kill mares because of lingering resentment of the Overmare, Daisy, and your mother?”
"不是吗?"金血王说。幻象消失了，苍白的种马重新出现在眼前。""你怎么啦？我花了很长时间来分析小马，但你可能是我见过的最反常的案例之一。是因为我是男人吗？对你在马厩里对P-21这样的种马所做的事感到深深的愧疚吗？你只杀母马是因为对乌弗马、黛西和你母亲的怨恨?"
“No,” I answered.
"不,"我回答。
“Then why? Why is it so wrong for you to kill one more miserable pony who deserves it?! Because you’re too good? Because of your pitiful refrain of doing better? Because you pine for some father figure?”
""那么为什么？为什么你就不能多杀一匹该死的小马呢?！因为你太优秀了？就因为你可怜兮兮地重复说要做得更好？因为你渴望一个父亲的形象?"
“Because it would be easy!” I screamed at him, wanting to crush him with my bare hooves, tears on my cheeks. “It took me all of a minute to make the choice, and just like that, I killed forty children! And it was so damned easy to do!” I sniffed, fighting myself. “Goddesses, you stupid fuck, I’m good at killing. I’m a fucking artist at it. And at getting people killed, too.”
"因为这很容易!"我对着他大喊大叫，想用我光秃秃的蹄子把他踩扁，泪流满面。"我花了一分钟的时间做出选择，就这样，我杀了四十个孩子！而且做起来太他妈容易了!"我抽着鼻子，挣扎着。"女神们，你们这些蠢货，我擅长杀人。我他妈的是个艺术家。而且还会害死人。"
The images disappeared as the pale pony gaped at me, struggling for a response. “I do not understand. Big Macintosh was also an excellent soldier. As was Psalm. As were all the Marauders. And they were heroes for being killers.”
当那匹苍白的小马瞪着我，挣扎着寻求回应的时候，那些画面消失了。"我不明白。大麦金托什也是一个优秀的士兵。诗篇也是如此。还有所有的掠夺者。他们是杀人凶手的英雄。"
“Wrong! They weren’t heroes. Especially not for being killers,” I countered. “All
"错了！他们不是英雄。尤其不是因为他是杀人犯,"我反驳道。"所有的
that killing did was turn Equestria more and more into the Wasteland. Defeat… Surrender would have been better than that!” I hung my head in shame. At the end, Big Macintosh had been the only one who had been a hero. All the rest had been corrupted, betrayed by the demand to kill for others.
杀戮确实把Equestria越来越变成了荒原。失败......投降还不如这样呢!"我羞愧地低下了头。到最后，大麦金托什成了唯一的英雄。其余的人都被腐化了，为他人杀戮的需求背叛了他们。
The scarred stallion didn’t have a response. He stood, frozen, his eyes wide when I glanced at him. My lips curled. “Do you want to see me as an executioner?” I asked. The scarred lips curled in a smile, and he nodded.
伤痕累累的种马没有回应。他站在那里，一动不动，当我瞥见他时，他的眼睛睁得大大的。我的嘴唇微微翘起。"你想看我当刽子手吗?"我问道。伤痕累累的嘴唇微笑着卷曲着，他点点头。
I don’t know how I did it. Maybe the machine was feeling really accommodating right now, but I felt myself change. My white hide was wrapped not in cybernetic plating but in dyed-black Security armor stitched to a ponyhide base. More scars crossed my skin, and my mane lay a little more chopped and wild. A pair of mirrored shades covered my eyes, reflecting the world back at him, and they gleamed along with the pair of hoofcuffs on my belt. A well-used security baton hung at my side, and I levitated up the pump-action shotgun and pointed it at his face.
我不知道我是怎么做到的。也许机器现在感觉真的很舒服，但是我感觉自己变了。我的白色皮肤没有被电镀层包裹起来，而是用染黑的安全装甲缝在一个马皮底座上。我的皮肤上越来越多的伤疤，鬃毛也更加粗糙。一对镜子般的墨镜遮住了我的眼睛，把整个世界反射到他的身上，它们和我腰带上的一对蹄铐一起闪闪发光。一根用得很好的警棍挂在我身边，我把泵动式悬浮起来，指着他的脸。
“This is me as an executioner, Goldenblood. Corrupted justice,” I said in a low, rough sneer. “I would have been a Reaper, right up there with Rampage. I would have started killing ponies I thought deserved it, but eventually I would have just been killing anypony who pissed me off. I would have been great friends with Rampage and Psychoshy. Would have taken Gorgon’s spot and never looked back. Hell, I probably would have given Sanguine EC-1101, because I wouldn’t have given a fuck.”
"这就是我作为刽子手的样子，金血王。腐败的正义,"我低声冷笑着说。"我可能会成为一个死神，在那里横冲直撞。我会开始杀那些我认为应该杀的小马，但最终我会杀死任何惹恼我的小马。我本可以成为狂暴和精神病的好朋友。就会占领戈耳工的地盘，再也不回头。见鬼，我可能会选sanguineec-1101，因为我根本不在乎。"
I lowered my face to stare at him over the top of the glasses. “I also wouldn’t have given a shit about Horizons, Cognitum, or Goldenblood. I’m pretty sure I’d be a law of one. Me, myself, and I. Kill anyone else that crossed me. If I were an executioner, Goldenblood, I wouldn’t have talked nearly this much.” I pumped a shell into the chamber. A thrilled expression of hope and horrified fascination crossed it, making me scowl even more.
我低下头，隔着眼镜看着他。"我也不在乎什么地平线、认知力或金色血统。我很确定我是一个法则。我，我自己，还有我杀掉任何惹恼我的人。如果我是刽子手，金血王，我就不会说这么多话了。"我把一颗炮弹打进了密室。一种激动的希望的表情和令人恐惧的迷恋穿过了它，使我更加愁眉不展。
“BANG!” I yelled, and he staggered back, collapsing in a heap and breathing hard. Slowly, I lowered the gun, staring at him as he gaped up at me. “Except, to that me, you wouldn’t be worth a bullet, a baton, or a bucket of piss to drown you in. You’re nothing. Everything is nothing. Fuck, I’d probably help Amadi if I gave two shits about him. You want me to be an executioner? I’d rather be dead.” I tossed the gun aside and looked away. “Now stop dicking around and
"砰!"我大叫起来，他摇摇晃晃地退了回去，倒成一堆，喘着粗气。慢慢地，我放下了枪，盯着他，他目瞪口呆地看着我。"除非，对那个我来说，你连一颗子弹、一根警棍或一桶尿都不如，连把你淹死在里面都不如。你什么都不是。一切都是虚无。妈的，如果我给阿马迪两个狗屎，我可能会帮他。你想让我当刽子手？我宁愿死。"我把枪扔到一边，转过头去。"现在别胡闹了
bring back Goldenblood.”
把金血王带回来。"
A soft chuckle came from the air, and Goldenblood appeared next to the sprawled stallion. “Told you,” he said with a wry smile.
空中传来一阵轻轻的笑声，金色的血液出现在四肢伸开的种马旁边。"告诉过你,"他苦笑着说。
“That should have worked,” the fake Goldenblood stammered up at me. “My psychological profiles say you should have killed him. How did you know?”
"那应该管用的,"假金血王结结巴巴地对我说。"我的心理档案显示你应该杀了他。你怎么知道的?"
I glanced at Goldenblood and felt the Reaper me melt away. If things had been different… if I hadn’t killed forty foals with a button… if I hadn’t done so many things… might I have been a Reaper wondering what it was like to do better, or a corpse waiting for a bullet? “Goldenblood’s better at this than you are. He wouldn’t have tried to talk me into killing him by telling me I’m something I’m not and will never be. Now go away. The big ponies have business.”
我瞥了一眼Goldenblood，感觉到死神把我融化了。如果事情不是这样的话...如果我没有用一颗纽扣杀死四十匹小马驹...如果我没有做那么多事情...我可能会是一个收割者想知道做得更好是什么感觉，或者是一具等待子弹射入的尸体？"金血王在这方面比你强。他不会通过告诉我我不是，也永远不会是来说服我杀了他。现在走吧。大马也有生意。"
He opened and closed his mouth several times, then disappeared. “Impressive,” the real Goldenblood commented. “Flattery aside, how’d you really know?”
他张开嘴又闭上嘴好几次，然后就消失了。"令人印象深刻,"真正的金血王说。"别说奉承话了，你是怎么知道的?"
I sighed and closed my eyes. “It knew too much. You might know a lot about me. I bet you’re pretty adept at spying from here. Two hundred years of practice and all. But I doubt you knew how many ponies were on the Seahorse.”
我叹了口气，闭上了眼睛。"它知道的太多了。你可能很了解我。我打赌你很擅长从这里监视。两百年的实践和所有。但我怀疑你知道海马上有多少匹小马。"
“Very astute,” he said with a small nod. “You really are good at this,” he continued with a gesture at the emptiness all around us. “But then, you’ve probably had more practice in mindscapes than any pony since Princess Luna.”
"非常精明,"他微微点了点头。"你真的很擅长这个,"他对着我们周围的空虚做了个手势继续说。"不过话说回来，你的头脑风景训练可能比卢娜公主之后的任何一匹小马都多。"
A table and chairs appeared, the wood and fabric patterns I recognized from Star House. A bottle of whiskey manifested, and, a second later, a cup of tea. We each took a seat, and I stared across at him. “Was she Princess Luna, or Nightmare Moon?”
一张桌子和椅子出现了，木头和织物的图案我从星星之家认出来了。一瓶威士忌来了，过了一会儿，又来了一杯茶。我们各自找了一个座位坐下，我盯着对面的他。"她是卢娜公主，还是恶梦之月?"
He sighed, closing his eyes. “That is the question. I’d like to think that, at the end, she died as Princess Luna. But as she was progressing, with the steps put in place, she would have ushered in a very dark thousand years. And few would have been the wiser. Princess Luna might never have become Nightmare Moon in fact, but she would have had a reign infinitely longer and more terrible than that of her alter ego.”
他叹了口气，闭上了眼睛。"这是个问题。我想，最后，她以露娜公主的身份去世了。但是随着她的进步，随着台阶的到位，她将迎来一个非常黑暗的一千年。很少有人会知道。事实上，卢娜公主可能永远不会成为梦魇之月，但她的统治时间会比她的另一个自我的统治时间长得多，也会更可怕。"
“Alicorns,” I agreed. “Power armor. Cyberponies. Memory spells. Thunderheads. The S.P.P. The M.o.M.’s spy network. And the war would have
"橡树果,"我同意了。"动力盔甲。网络小马。记忆魔咒。雷雨云。标准普尔。的间谍网络。而这场战争
given her an excuse to silence any pony who criticized her.” I took a sip, the fiery fluid giving a wonderful familiar burn as I swallowed. “Maybe she might not have been bad, but who knows what she could have done.” I stared at him evenly. “Still, you might have tried something other than killing everypony on the planet.”
给她一个借口，让任何批评她的小马都闭嘴"我喝了一小口，当我吞咽下去的时候，火热的液体给了我一种奇妙而熟悉的灼烧感。"也许她并不坏，但谁知道她会做出什么事来。"我平静地凝视着他。"尽管如此，除了杀死这个星球上的每一匹小马，你还是可以尝试一些别的办法的。"
“As I said, I was manipulated… but you’re right.” He sighed and took a sip of tea. “I saw what Twilight did for Gardens and attempted to do something even grander still. Pride was my downfall. Ironic…” He shook his head and then looked at me again. There was something calculating in his gaze, and some amusement, too.
"正如我所说，我是被操纵了......但你是对的。"他叹了口气，喝了一口茶。"我看到了《暮光之城》为花园所做的一切，并试图做一些更宏伟的事情。骄傲是我垮台的原因。讽刺的是......"他摇了摇头，然后又看着我。他的目光中有些算计的意味，也有些好笑的意味。
“So, now what?” I said when it became clear he wasn’t going to continue.
"那么，现在怎么办?"当事情变得明朗时，我说他不会继续下去了。
He gave a little smile and shrug. “Now I wait for you to complete my execution. I’m not going to try and talk you into it. I’m simply going to wait. Because you want to get back to your friends and stop Cognitum. I want to die. Eventually, you’ll see it as a mercy killing and be on your way.”
他微微一笑，耸了耸肩。"现在我等着你来完成我的死刑。我不会试图说服你的。我只是在等待。因为你想回到你的朋友身边，停止认知。我想死。最终，你会把它看作一种安乐死，然后就可以上路了。"
“Suicide?” I muttered. “I’ve tried suicide, Goldenblood. There’s lots faster ways to bring it about than this.”
"自杀?"我咕哝着。"我试过自杀，金血王。要实现这一目标，还有很多更快的方法。"
“True. But remember… egotist?” He chuckled again. “I wanted somepony who understood me to do it. I didn’t want to put a bullet through my head in the gutter, or to throw myself off Canterlot. How would that be appropriate for a monster such as I?” He sighed and looked out at the darkness. “I wanted somepony, anypony, to realize the full breadth and scope of what I’d done. That’s all. Even Princess Luna didn’t know.”
"没错。但是记住......自大狂?"他又咯咯地笑了。"我想要一个能理解我的人来做这件事。我不想把一颗子弹穿过我的脑袋扔进排水沟里，也不想把自己从坎特罗特岛上扔下去。对于像我这样的怪物来说，这怎么会合适呢?"他叹了口气，望着外面的黑暗。"我想要一匹小马，一匹小马，来认识到我所做的一切的广度和范围。仅此而已。连卢娜公主都不知道。"
I took another pull off the bottle. “You are one fucked-up stallion, you know that, Goldenblood?” I said. “I am trying to save ponies’ lives, and you’re still fixated on you. Still. Even now.” I sighed and took another drink as he sat there, looking wretched. “Why don’t you help me?”
我又喝了一口。"你真是一匹该死的种马，你知道吗，金色血统?"我说。"我正在努力挽救小马的生命，而你仍然对自己念念不忘。不过。即使是现在。"我叹了口气，又喝了一杯，他坐在那里，看起来很可怜。"你为什么不帮帮我?"
The question seemed to rouse him a little. “You’d accept my help?” He laughed jovially, then trailed off as I continued smiling at him. “You’re joking. You have to be.” His smile became a sick rictus before it slipped away in horrified disbelief. “...you’re serious?”
这个问题似乎使他有点激动。"你会接受我的帮助吗?"他开心地笑了，然后我继续对他微笑，他的笑声渐渐消失了。"你在开玩笑吧。你必须如此。"他的笑容变成了病态的咧嘴笑，然后在惊恐的难以置信中溜走了。"...你是认真的吗?"
“You haven’t been paying attention to me, have you?” I said with a laugh. “So
"你没有注意到我，是吗?"我笑着说。"所以
long as you keep trying to do better, that’s all I ask. The computer was right when it pointed out I kill a lot of folks that didn’t need to die, and I save folks who I probably shouldn’t have. Can’t do anything about the former other than try my best not to do it again. But sparing others… I like to believe that ponies want to do the right thing. To be better. Killing just leaves corpses.”
只要你努力做得更好，这就是我的全部要求。电脑正确地指出，我杀死了许多本不该死的人，我拯救了许多本不该死的人。对于前者我无能为力，只能尽量不再做了。但是放过别人......我愿意相信小马想做正确的事情。为了变得更好。杀戮只会留下尸体。"
Goldenblood closed his eyes and covered his face with his hooves. “And would it be good, if I tried harder?” He slowly pulled them down until he stared at me with his haunted eyes. “I did so much–”
金色的血液闭上眼睛，用蹄子盖住脸。"如果我再努力一点，这样好吗?"他慢慢地把它们拉下来，直到他用那双忧心忡忡的眼睛盯着我。"我做了那么多..."
“You’re going to make me hit you again,” I said, flipping the table out of the way and leaning towards him, giving him a hoof-poke-punctuated list. “One. It is not just about you. Princess Luna, Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and even Princess Celestia all had their share of the blame. You didn’t rub your hooves together and cackle about how you were going to rule Equestria from behind the throne. Two. It is not all about you. I am trying to save ponies now. That’s me doing better. If you really are such a shit that you can’t be trusted out of this pen, then eat a bullet and get out of the way. But if you really are as smart as you pretend to be, then get your ass in the game. And three. It’s really not about you. You’re smart, but you’re actually not that important at this point. And now that you’ve told me about the star spirit, I think I’m starting to understand just how ridiculously big this really is. But if you still don’t want to help, then I will give you what you want and be on my way.” I crossed my hooves in front of myself. “I am not an executioner, but I am a mare on a mission, and if I have to get rid of you to complete it, then so be it.” I paused, pointed a hoof at him, and added, “I will probably whine, angst, and beat myself up about it later, but if that’s the price for saving everypony else, then I’ll be damned and pay it.”
"你会让我再揍你一顿的,"我说着，把桌子掀开，向他倾斜，给了他一份用蹄子戳的标点清单。"一个。这不仅仅是你的问题。公主露娜，紫悦和她的朋友，甚至塞莱斯蒂娅公主都应该为此负责。你没有摩擦你的蹄子和咯咯笑说你将如何从王座后面统治小马国。二。这不完全是你的问题。我现在正在努力拯救小马。这是我做得更好。如果你真的是这样一个狗屎，你不能信任这支笔，然后吃一颗子弹，离开的方式。但是如果你真的像你假装的那么聪明，那么就赶紧去参加游戏吧。三。这真的与你无关。你很聪明，但在这一点上你实际上并不重要。现在你已经告诉了我关于恒星精神的事情，我想我开始明白这到底有多么荒谬。但如果你还是不想帮忙，那我就给你你想要的，然后我就走人。"我在自己面前交叉我的蹄子。"我不是刽子手，但我是执行任务的母马，如果我必须摆脱你才能完成任务，那就这样吧。"我停顿了一下，用蹄子指了指他，补充说,"我可能会抱怨，焦虑，然后为此痛打自己，但如果这是拯救其他小马的代价，那么我会被诅咒并付出代价。"
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, looking away.
"对不起,"他喃喃自语，目光移开。
“Me too,” I said, turning my back to him. “Fluttershy would be ashamed.”
"我也是,"我说，背对着他。"胆小鬼会感到羞愧的。"
“Fluttershy?” he said like I’d slapped him… again.
"萤火虫?"他说好像我又打了他一巴掌。
“She never gave up trying, even when she messed up. Do better. That’s what she told us all. Be better. Try. And never give up.” I gestured to the blackness. “This? This is the lamest giving up I’ve ever seen. A mattress is still a mattress, even if it’s made of machinery and mind games instead of stuffing and springs.” Okay, maybe not the clearest analogy but still!
"她从不放弃尝试，即使她搞砸了。做得更好。她就是这么告诉我们的。做得更好。试试。永不放弃。"我指了指黑暗。""这个？这是我见过的最糟糕的放弃。床垫仍然是床垫，即使它是由机器和心理游戏而不是填料和弹簧制成的。"好吧，也许不是最清晰的类比，但仍然！
I didn’t know where I was walking to. Eventually the program would get the hint, I supposed, and get me out of here so I could ‘execute’ Goldenblood by death in his sleep. But a moment later, he called out, “Wait.” I didn’t look back, didn’t dare to breathe. After a second’s pause, he said, “If you could get me out… if you could…” I glanced over my shoulder. For a moment, a terrible hope guttered in his face before it dimmed under a veil of doubt. “I don’t know… maybe…”
我不知道我要走到哪里。我想，最终程序会明白我的意思，然后带我离开这里，这样我就可以在金血王的睡梦中"处死"他了。但过了一会儿，他喊道:"等等。"我不敢回头，不敢呼吸。停顿了一会儿，他说,"如果你能把我弄出去......如果你能......"我回头看了一眼。一时间，一个可怕的希望在他脸上闪过，然后在疑惑的面纱下变得模糊。"我不知道......也许......"
“Well, that’s better than you’ve been doing, Goldenblood,” I said quietly, then glared up. “Now, get me out of here, Computer. We have to have a chat.”
"好吧，这比你以前做的好多了，金色血统,"我平静地说，然后瞪大了眼睛。"现在，让我离开这里，计算机。我们得谈谈。"
* * *
* * *
I came out and immediately pulled the net off my head. My head spun a bit, and I sat blinking before it finally settled down. “I will not release my prisoner,” the computer said flatly. “You must select an execution method.”
我走了出来，立刻把网从我头上拉了下来。我的头转了一下，我坐在那里眨着眼睛，直到它最终安定下来。"我不会释放我的囚犯,"电脑断然地说。"您必须选择一种执行方法。"
I twisted and smirked at the machine. “That was fast.”
我对着机器扭动着身子傻笑。"太快了。"
“Your psychological profile says that you will not accept the terms as they are presented to you and will attempt to find a solution by negotiation or force that will prevent you from accepting them. I warn you, any attempt to teleport out of this chamber will fail and prompt immediate execution by beam turrets,” the computer threatened. I smirked at the irony.
"你的心理侧写表明，你不会接受呈现在你面前的条件，而会试图通过谈判或武力找到阻止你接受它们的解决方案。我警告你，任何从这个房间传送出去的尝试都会失败，并且立即用光束炮塔处决。"计算机威胁道。我嘲笑这种讽刺。
“Relax, Computer,” I said as I rose to my hooves, shaking the lingering fuzziness from my head, and walked around to stand before the pod. “I meant what I said. If I have to kill Goldenblood, I will. My friends come first.” I sat down before the stasis pod, regarding its occupant for a minute. Then an idea came to me. “Quick question. Your main priority is to kill Goldenblood, right?”
"放松，电脑,"我说，我站起身来，摆脱了头上挥之不去的毛茸茸的东西，转过身来站在豆荚前面。""我说的是真的。如果我必须杀死金血王，我会的。我的朋友是第一位的。"我在停滞舱前坐了下来，看了一会它的居住者。然后我想到一个主意。"一个小问题。你的首要任务是杀死金血王，对吗?"
“No. I am to hold him until an executioner arrives with the capability to decide an appropriate means of killing him. Then I shall kill him,” the computer sounded absolutely pissy that I hadn’t agreed to splatter Goldenblood all over the virtual landscape.
"没有。我要拘留他，直到一个刽子手有能力决定一个适当的方式杀死他。那我就杀了他,"电脑听起来非常恼火，因为我没有同意在虚拟世界里喷洒《金色血液》。
“And you’re supposed to spend the wait interrogating him for information, right?” I didn’t get a reply. “Who are you authorized to give that information to?”
"而且你应该等待审问他的信息，对吗?"我没有得到回复。"你有权向谁提供这些信息?"
“Princess Luna, a cleared member of the M.o.M., or any senior ministry official,” the computer said testily.
计算机烦躁地说:"卢娜公主是一名清白的m.o.m成员，或者任何高级部门官员。"。
“Right,” I said, thinking back to a statue I’d seen what felt like a lifetime ago, and the little yellow statuette. Damn, I missed those six. “I have decided my form of execution.”
"没错,"我说，回想起我好像上辈子见过的一尊雕像，还有那个小黄雕像。该死，我错过了那六个。"我已经决定了我的处决方式。"
A thousand different kinds of death popped up on the screens. A thousand horrible ways to go. “Please make your selection.”
一千种不同的死亡方式出现在屏幕上。一千种可怕的死法。"请做出选择。"
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and killed him.
我闭上眼睛，深吸一口气，然后杀了他。
“Kindness.”
"善良。"
The computer was silent for several seconds. “You wish him… hugged to death?” the computer asked hopefully.
电脑沉默了几秒钟。"你希望他......被拥抱致死?"电脑满怀希望地问。
“I want him let go. I am going to be killing him through kindness,” I said firmly.
"我想让他走。我要用仁慈杀死他,"我坚定地说。
I couldn’t allow for any doubt or debate in this.
我不允许对此有任何怀疑或争论。
“I’m sorry, but your choice is invalid,” the computer said with what might actually be snippiness. “Please select an appropriate death.”
"对不起，但是你的选择是无效的,"电脑说，实际上可能是带着虚伪的语气。"请选择合适的死亡方式。"
“But it is appropriate. The most appropriate form of all,” I said as I kept my eyes locked on the pod. “You want him to be executed properly. Well, that’s impossible here. He wants the deaths you can give him here. Throw him to the Wasteland, where he can die like he should have two centuries ago, in some nondescript hole. Or so that he dies to his creation, Horizons. Here, he’ll never die as he deserves.”
"但这是合适的。这是最合适的形式。"我一边说，一边把眼睛紧紧地盯着那个吊舱。"你希望他被正确地处决。在这里是不可能的。他想要的是你能给他的死亡。把他扔到荒原，在那里他可以像两个世纪前那样死去，死在某个不起眼的洞里。或者让他死在他的创造物——地平线上。在这里，他永远不会死得其所。"
The computer didn’t answer for a minute, and I waited each second of it. “That is a compelling argument. While we have run numerous simulations of him dying to Project Horizons and found the psychological trauma to be quite minimal, it would at least be a method of execution. Additionally, the potential alternative of an insignificant death would be, as you say, very appropriate.” Another pause. “And we’ve detected a sixty percent spike in his brain waves associated with panic caused by your suggestion, a new record. Still, it is outside my mission parameters.”
电脑一分钟都没有应答，我每一秒都在等待。"这是一个令人信服的论点。虽然我们已经在"地平线计划"上模拟了他的死亡过程，发现他的心理创伤非常小，但这至少是一种执行的方法。此外，如你所说，一个无关紧要的死亡的潜在替代方案将是非常合适的。"又是一个停顿。"我们发现他的脑电波有60%的峰值与你的建议引起的恐慌有关，这是一个新的记录。尽管如此，这仍然超出了我的任务范围。"
“That’s where your secondary mission comes into play. You’ve been through his
"这就是你的次要任务开始发挥作用的地方。你经历过他的痛苦
brain, but what are the odds there’s some small bit he’s holding on to? Some last little secret. You know how clever he is.” I gave a tiny little smile. “Let him go and observe how he acts. See what else he’s hiding. As a descendant of a ministry mare, I should be a valid recipient of any intelligence you’ve extracted.”
布莱恩，但是有多大的几率，他还能坚持住呢？最后一个小秘密。你知道他有多聪明。"我微微一笑。"让他去观察他的行为。看看他还隐瞒了什么。作为一个牧师的后代，我应该是你所提取的任何智慧的有效接受者。"
Again, another long pause. “Interesting. I’ve never seen anxiety levels this high before. He’s making numerous counterarguments to yours, Executioner. And he is attempting to subvert my programming and delete the release commands.”
又是一个长时间的停顿。"有意思。我从没见过这么高的焦虑水平。刽子手，他正在对你的观点进行反驳。他试图破坏我的程序，删除释放命令。"
That was it! I knew that Goldenblood had to have worked out some back doors. Now or never. “Then let him go. You were originally from a place that healed ponies. If Goldenblood is to have any hope at recovery, he can’t do it here. Dreams and nightmares can only do so much. Let him go, to die as he deserves or to recover as anypony should!”
就是这样！我知道金血王肯定有后门。机不可失，时不再来。""那就让他走吧。你来自一个治疗小马的地方。如果Goldenblood有任何复苏的希望，他不可能在这里复苏。梦想和噩梦只能做这么多。让他去吧，让他死得该死，或者让他恢复正常!"
No answer. I waited a minute, counting to sixty. “Computer?” Still no response. My ears wilted a bit. Then the pod let out a hiss of noxious, acrid gasses, not the flesh-melting vapors of Pink Cloud but still unpleasant. Goldenblood’s hooves worked weakly as the lid slipped up.
没有回答。我等了一分钟，数到六十。"电脑?"还是没有回应。我的耳朵有点萎缩。然后分离舱发出一阵嘶嘶的有毒气体，不是粉红云融化肉体的气体，但仍然令人不快。当盖子滑开时，金色血液的蹄子无力地发出声响。
“Subject revival in progress. Notify the M.o.P. for medical care. Terminal data damage to this program. Conducting a remote transfer to an available mobile unit. Deleting hoofprint program. Catch you on the flipside,” the computer buzzed, and then it went dead. Buh? Remote what?
「学科复修正在进行中。通知医疗保健部门。这个程序的终端数据损坏。向可用的移动设备进行远程传输。正在删除蹄印程序。电脑嗡嗡作响，然后就死机了。嗯？远离什么？
“Robots,” I groaned, shaking my head, then paid attention to the pod’s stirring occupant. Goldenblood squirmed and opened his yellow, bloodshot eyes. They drifted over the dead machinery, then slowly focused on me. “Welcome to your parole, Goldenblood.”
"机器人,"我呻吟着，摇着头，然后注意到分离舱里搅动的居住者。金色的血液蠕动着，睁开了充血的黄色眼睛。他们漂浮在死机上，然后慢慢地把注意力集中在我身上。"欢迎来到你的假释期，金色血统。"
He lunged… if molasses could lunge… leaving the net on his head and collapsing towards me. “No. Can’t… shouldn’t… wrong…” he muttered as I caught him and lowered him to the ground. Behind us, the doors ground open, showing the empty hallway. I supposed that Persephone and Tenebra were waiting up above, if they waited at all.
他猛扑过来......如果糖浆能够猛扑过来的话......把网留在他的头上，向我扑过来。"没有。不能......不应该......错......"当我抓住他并把他放到地上时，他喃喃自语道。在我们身后，门敞开着，显示出空荡荡的走廊。我猜想珀尔塞福涅和特内布拉一定在上面等着，如果他们真的在等的话。
“Oh yes you can and should, and I don’t care,” I contradicted as he struggled on the ground. “Come on. This place has to have a café somewhere. I’m starving, and I imagine that after two centuries, you’d like a bite to eat too.” It was a
"哦，是的，你可以，也应该，我不在乎,"当他在地上挣扎时，我反驳道。"来吧。这地方肯定有个咖啡馆。我快饿死了，我想两个世纪过去了，你也想吃点东西吧。"这是一个
gnawing discomfort in my gut, familiar and natural and so very welcome. Despite Goldenblood’s feeble objections, I shoved him across my shoulders and soldiered up to the atrium. Still no sign of Tenebra and her mom, but then, there wasn’t exactly a high expectation of me coming back, and I had been in those orbs a while.
啃噬着我内心的不适，熟悉而自然，非常受欢迎。尽管戈登布拉德软弱无力地反对，我还是把他从肩膀上推了过去，然后朝中庭走去。还是没有Tenebra和她妈妈的消息，但是，我回来的希望并不是很高，我已经在那些球体里呆了一段时间了。
The café was extant and all ready to go, with food on shelves in the back. I helped myself to some Sugar Apple Bombs cereal; they were no cyberpony cake, but then, what was? For Goldenblood, I found some bags of dried apples. There was easily enough food in the café’s pantry to feed a hundred ponies for a month, rows upon rows of it. I walked along the bank of refrigerators and snagged a pair of Sparkle-Colas… wait a minute! It took me fifteen minutes to find it, but yes, there it was, the glass bottle with its amber contents seeming to possess a faint aura accompanied by the singing of holy spirits.
咖啡馆现在已经准备就绪，后面的架子上摆着食物。我自己吃了一些糖苹果炸弹麦片;它们不是赛博马蛋糕，但是，那是什么呢？我找到了一些装着金色血统的苹果干。在咖啡馆的储藏室里，有足够的食物可以供养一百匹小马一个月，一匹一匹地喂。我走在冰箱的银行和抢到了一对闪亮可乐...等一下！我花了十五分钟才找到它，但是，是的，它就在那里，装着琥珀的玻璃瓶子似乎带着一种微弱的气氛，伴随着圣灵的歌唱。
I returned to the table, finding Goldenblood slumped back in his seat, watching me with a mix of wariness and dislike. “It’s too bad Glory’s not here. She could whip all of these into something fantastic. She really should have a cooking cutie mark,” I said as I took a seat, popped the cap off my bottle of amber heaven, and took a long pull. Oh, it burned! It burned like hell, and the warmth lifted me right to the tip of my horn. “Oooooeeeeahhh…” I groaned long and low, looking at the bottle. “I missed you.”
我回到桌子旁，发现金布拉德瘫坐在椅子上，带着一种既谨慎又厌恶的神情看着我。"晨辉不在这里真是太糟糕了。她可以把所有这些变成奇妙的东西。她真的应该有一个可爱的烹饪标记,"我说，我坐下来，打开瓶盖琥珀天堂，并采取了长期拉。哦，它烧着了！它像地狱一样燃烧着，温暖把我带到了我的角尖。"呜呜呜呜......"我低声长时间地呻吟着，看着瓶子。"我想你。"
“You’re drinking?” Goldenblood asked incredulously as I returned. The purple batpony armor I’d liberated from the armory pinched in the seat, but pretty soon I wasn’t going to care about that one bit.
"你在喝酒?"当我回来的时候，金血王不可思议地问道。我从座位上夹着的军械库里解放出来的紫色蝙蝠马盔甲，但是很快我就不再关心这个了。
“You betcha,” I said with a smile, levitating a pair of glasses over and pouring a half inch in both. “I broke you out of there because I needed a drinking buddy.” I paused to take few mouthfuls of cereal and dried apple. “I also did my quota of thinking for the day. Now it’s your turn. Take a moment, then you’re going to help me get out of the Nightmare Citadel and back to my friends. Then you’re going to help me stop Cognitum, Amadi, and Horizons. Then… I dunno. Decide what to do with your life. Take up rock collecting. I hear rocks are very big in the Wasteland.”
"当然,"我微笑着说，把一副玻璃杯举起来，倒了半英寸进去。"我把你弄出来是因为我需要一个酒友"我停下来吃了几口麦片和干苹果。"我也完成了当天的思考指标。现在轮到你了。花一点时间，然后你要帮助我走出噩梦城堡，回到我的朋友身边。然后你要帮我阻止科格尼塔姆、阿马迪和地平线。然后...我不知道。决定你的生活该做什么。开始收集岩石。我听说荒原上的石头很大。"
“You’re mocking me,” he muttered flatly.
"你在嘲笑我,"他直截了当地咕哝着。
“Noooo…” I said with a smirk, then rolled my eyes. “Well, maybe a little bit.” I
"不......"我傻笑着说，然后转了转眼睛。"好吧，也许有一点。"一
chewed, and his annoyance was as delicious as the contents of my bottle. “So… how do we get out of the Citadel?”
他的烦恼就像我瓶子里的东西一样美味。"那么......我们怎么才能离开'堡垒'呢?"
“We don’t,” Goldenblood muttered.
"我们不知道,"金色血液咕哝着。
“Well, if you want to stick around, that’s up to you. Personally, I’d take the Wasteland over this place. Not that the drinks aren’t nice,” I said as I settled back in the booth, taking another one. “Come on. Eat up. Have a drink. Put that amazingly conniving mind to work.”
"好吧，如果你想留下来，那是你自己的事。就我个人而言，我更愿意接受这片荒原。倒不是说这里的饮料不好喝,"我坐回卡座，又喝了一杯。"来吧。吃光。喝一杯吧。让你那令人惊讶的纵容心去工作吧。"
“There’s nothing to work. This place was one of Nightmare Moon’s fortresses. It was designed to be impregnable, impervious, undetectable, and inescapable. The only gap in its defenses is a hole as big as your hoof carrying data cables to the real world. Beyond that, only the king can permit travel.” He spoke as if addressing an idiot, which I couldn’t fault him for. He’d had a bad day.
"没什么可干的。这个地方是梦魇之月的堡垒之一。它的设计是坚不可摧的，不可探测的，无处可逃的。它唯一的防御缺口是一个和你的蹄子一样大的洞，把数据电缆传送到现实世界。除此之外，只有国王才能允许旅行。"他说话的样子好像在对一个白痴说话，我不能怪他。他过了糟糕的一天。
I munched some more and pursed my lips, furrowing my brow. “You know him?”
我又吃了一点，噘起嘴唇，皱起眉头。"你认识他?"
“Of him. With two hundred years, I’d convinced the program that surveillance views of the outside were somehow torment,” he said with a little shrug. “An insecure leader of a doomed population unable to react to the fundamentals of survival. He’s not a bad person, but he’s certainly not anypony who should be in a leadership role.”
"关于他。两百年来，我一直让这个项目相信，外界的监控观点是一种折磨,"他耸耸肩说。"一个命中注定无法对生存的基本要素作出反应的人口中缺乏安全感的领导人。他不是一个坏人，但他肯定不是那种应该担任领导角色的人。"
I swirled the glass and took another drink. “How do you do that?” I asked.
我转动杯子，又喝了一口。"你是怎么做到的?"我问道。
“I beg your pardon?”
"你说什么?"
“You were a teacher and a politician. How do you just… summarize someone like that?” It seemed a little ridiculous.
"你既是一名教师，又是一名政治家。你怎么能...总结出这样的人呢?"这似乎有点可笑。
My question made him smile. “Every teacher’s a little bit of a psychologist. We have to understand students. Parents. But really… it’s art. My talent is appreciating the value of people, what they can contribute… how they can best be used. I can tell pure metals from base alloys in seconds. I know their strength, their malleability.” He sighed as he stared out at the stable. “I’d considered a career in engineering, but I couldn’t handle the math.”
我的问题使他笑了。"每个老师都有点像心理学家。我们必须理解学生。父母。但说真的...这是艺术。我的天赋是欣赏人们的价值，他们能做出什么贡献......他们怎样才能得到最好的利用。我几秒钟就能分辨出纯金属和贱金属。我知道他们的力量和可塑性。"他盯着外面的马厩叹了口气。"我曾考虑过从事工程学方面的工作，但我无法处理数学问题。"
“Math. Pfft. What’s it good for?” I snorted and took another drink. “So what’s
"数学。噗。这有什么好处?"我哼了一声，又喝了一口。"那又怎么样
my metal?” I asked. “What’s my value?”
我的金属?"我问道。"我的价值是什么?"
He opened his mouth, paused, and then said, “I’m not quite certain. You’re incalculable, for now.”
他张开嘴，停顿了一下，然后说:"我不太确定。就目前而言，你是不可估量的。"
“I think you’re lying,” I murmured, then shook some more cereal into my mouth, watching him. He might have been off the mattress, but he hadn’t gotten far. His eyes were still back in the machine. “Hard, isn’t it?” He blinked at me. By now, I felt a nice warm buzz spreading through me. I smiled and leaned on the table, propping myself up with a hoof. “Moving forward after fucking up big time. I know that look.”
"我觉得你在说谎,"我低声说，然后又往嘴里扔了些麦片，看着他。他可能已经离开了床垫，但他还没有走远。他的眼睛仍然盯着机器。"很难，不是吗?"他对我眨了眨眼。这时，我感到一阵温暖的嗡嗡声传遍全身。我微笑着倚在桌子上，用蹄子支撑着自己。"把事情搞砸之后继续前进。我知道那种表情。"
He gave me that appraising gaze again. “I was played. I let myself be played.”
他又用那种评价的目光盯着我。"我被耍了。我让自己被耍了。"
I shrugged. “What do they say about good intentions? The road to hell is paved with them, right?” Sighing, I offered him the bottle again, and he shook his head. “Look. Let me share the biggest thing I’ve learned… There’s no going back. What’s done is done. You can kick yourself to death over the past, but the important thing is to move ahead, and learn from it. I need to stop Cognitum, Amadi, and Horizons. To do that, I need to get out of here. So how is that going to happen?”
我耸了耸肩。"他们是怎么说好意的？通往地狱的路是用它们铺成的，对吧?"我叹了口气，又把瓶子递给他，他摇了摇头。"你看。让我来分享一下我学到的最重要的事情......没有回头路。木已成舟。你可以在过去踢死自己，但重要的是向前迈进，并从中吸取教训。我需要停止科涅塔姆，阿马迪，和地平线。要做到这一点，我需要离开这里。那么，这将如何实现呢?"
Goldenblood closed his eyes for several minutes. I wasn’t even sure he was breathing, he sat so still. But as much as I hated waiting, I hated being stuck here even more. “The king is insecure,” he said finally. “Asking, pleading, and demanding won’t work now. If you work on his vanity for a few days, though, he should bend enough–”
金血王闭了几分钟眼睛。我甚至不确定他是否还有呼吸，他一动不动地坐着。虽然我很讨厌等待，但我更讨厌被困在这里。"国王没有安全感,"他最后说。"要求、恳求和要求现在都不起作用了。不过，如果你为他的虚荣心工作几天，他就会屈服得够多了——"
That was nothing Persephone hadn’t told me. “We don’t have a few days. I need something direct and to the point. I need… woo…” I caught myself. Wow. Only a fifth of a bottle, and I was already getting tipsy.
这一点珀尔塞福涅都告诉过我。"我们没有几天时间。我需要一些直截了当的话。我需要...呜..."我发现自己。哇。只喝了五分之一瓶，我已经有点醉了。
He sighed. “There’s no way to do it faster, Blackjack. I know his type. He’ll deny you just because.”
他叹了口气。"没有更快的方法了，Blackjack。我知道他是什么样的人。他会拒绝你，仅仅因为。"
“Come on, Goldenblood. There has to be something you have that I can use,” I said in annoyance.
"来吧，金色的血液。你肯定有什么东西我可以用,"我不耐烦地说。
He shook his head. “I’m sorry. The king controls the phase talisman. He’s not going to give it to you, and he’ll likely kill me on sight if he realizes I’m free.”
他摇了摇头。"对不起。国王控制相护身符。他不会给你的，如果他知道我自由了，他可能会当场杀了我。"
Wait a minute… “What ‘talisman’?” I said, giving him an obnoxious grin. “You said something about a ‘phase talisman’?”
等一下..."什么'护身符'?"我说，给了他一个讨厌的笑容。"你说什么'阶段护身符'?"
He was silent for several seconds, then sighed in defeat. “It’s the talisman created by Nightmare Moon to access her strongholds. And he’s not going to just give it to you.”
他沉默了几秒钟，然后失败地叹了口气。"这是恶梦之月创造的护身符，用来进入她的据点。他不会就这么给你的。"
But it did tell me how to get out of this place. I’d believed the ability to make the gate to be a power unique to the king and that I’d therefore be screwed if I couldn’t get his help. If it was something I could borrow, beg, or steal, though… “Well, I did just save his daughter from a spectral ghost, his wife likes me, and I banged his son pretty good not too long ago. Maybe his daughter soon, too,” I said with a smirk, watching the ghoul’s blank face. “I tried asking nice. If he still won’t send us back, then I’ll have no choice but to kick his ass, take that talisman, and send us both back despite him.”
但它确实告诉了我如何离开这个地方。我曾经相信，把大门变成国王独有的力量的能力，因此，如果我得不到他的帮助，我就完蛋了。如果这是我可以借，可以乞讨，或者可以偷的东西，尽管......"嗯，我刚刚从一个幽灵手中救出了他的女儿，他的妻子喜欢我，不久前我还狠狠地上了他的儿子。也许他的女儿也快了,"我看着食尸鬼一脸茫然的表情，傻笑着说。"我试着友好地请求。如果他还是不把我们送回去，那我就别无选择，只能踢他的屁股，拿走那个护身符，把我们两个都送回去。"
“You?” Goldenblood said skeptically. “Blackjack, I know you’ve overcome much, but–”
"你?"戈登布拉德怀疑地说。"黑杰克，我知道你已经克服了很多困难，但是——"
I shut him down with a look. It was the first time I’d given that look since Cognitum had torn my cutie mark away. It was the perfect blend of overconfidence and malice sprinkled with just the right amount of mad audacity, soaked masterfully in ethanol. My shooty look. “But nothing,” I said with a grin. “I’m getting out of here. I’m getting back to Glory. My friends. I’m going to stop Cognitum and Amadi. I’m going to get my baby back and be the best damned mommy I can be. And do you know why?”
我看了他一眼，把他拒之门外。这是自从科格尼顿把我可爱的印记撕掉以后，我第一次有这种表情。这是过度自信和恶意的完美结合，再加上恰到好处的疯狂大胆，巧妙地用乙醇浸泡。我的无礼表情。"没什么,"我咧嘴笑着说。"我要离开这里。我要回到晨辉。我的朋友们。我要去阻止Cognitum和Amadi。我要把我的孩子找回来，做一个最好的妈妈。你知道为什么吗?"
His eyes widened, and he shook his head ever so slightly, as if afraid that the wrong answer might set me off.
他睁大了眼睛，轻轻地摇了摇头，好像害怕错误的回答会惹恼我。
“Because I’m Security, and I think I’ve had one too many,” I said, glancing at the bottle. Then I took one more pull and swallowed hard. “Yeah. Definitely one too many. Let’s ride, Goldie.”
"因为我是保安，我想我喝多了,"我说，瞥了一眼瓶子。然后我又拉了一下，使劲咽了一口。"是的。绝对是一个太多了。我们走吧，戈尔迪。"
* * *
* * *
I’m sure that there are many ways to conduct negotiations. Sit down, lay out your positions and reasons, work out what your opponent wants, and reach a compromise. Threaten or flatter to try and shift those positions. If necessary, try to force your position either through deception or… well… force. I knew this
我相信有很多方法可以进行谈判。坐下来，陈述你的立场和理由，弄清楚你的对手想要什么，然后达成妥协。威胁或奉承，试图改变这些立场。如果有必要，试着通过欺骗或者......嗯......强迫来强迫你的立场。我就知道
because Goldenblood spent the entire ten minute trip telling me so. That the king, for his personal faults, was more than capable of annihilating me through brute force or his own shadow magic, which would mean my overarching goals would fail. I should contact his family, work around him, and negotiate this behind closed doors. Goldenblood was just missing one important fact:
因为金血王花了整整十分钟告诉我这些。国王，因为他个人的缺点，完全有能力通过蛮力或者他自己的影子魔法来消灭我，这意味着我的首要目标将会失败。我应该联系他的家人，在他身边工作，然后私下谈判。金血王只是忽略了一个重要的事实:
He was trying to negotiate with a fifth of whiskey.
他想用五分之一的威士忌来讨价还价。
I kicked open the doors to the dining hall, the heavy slabs of dark wood booming as they struck the walls, and strode down between two rows of tables towards the one in the back with the king and his family. Goldenblood crept after me like he couldn’t believe any of this was happening. “Hey, Kingy! It’s checkout time!” I shouted, pointing my spear at the monarch. “I’m leaving, now. You’re sending me back to my friends.”
我踢开通往餐厅的门，沉重的黑木板撞击着墙壁，发出隆隆的响声，我和国王及其家人从两排桌子中间大步走向后面的那张桌子。金色的血液在我身后爬行，好像他不能相信这一切正在发生。"嘿，金吉！现在是退房时间!"我喊道，用长矛指着国王。"我现在要走了。你要把我送回我的朋友身边。"
Hades, huge and muscled and gorgeous, rose up from behind his table. “You? You dare challenge me before my whole court?!”
身材魁梧、肌肉发达、仪表堂堂的哈迪斯从桌子后面站了起来。""你呢？你竟敢在整个朝廷面前挑战我?!"
I narrowed my eyes, took an indolent pull off the bottle, smacked my lips, and grinned back. “Ayep.”
我眯起眼睛，懒洋洋地拿起瓶子，咂了咂嘴，咧嘴笑了起来。"是的。"
The rest of his family gaped at me, while Whisper grinned in joy. “Blackjack, have you lost your mind?” Tenebra asked.
他家里的其他人都目瞪口呆地看着我，而Whisper则高兴地咧着嘴笑。"黑杰克，你疯了吗?"特内布拉问道。
“Ayep,” I answered again. “Your daddy’s king. I get that. I don’t care. I don’t care about him, his privacy paranoia, or anything else. I. Want. Out. And I’m sick of wasting time to get it.” My eyes returned to the stallion in question. “You want to show your worthiness to be king? Send me home. Simple as that. Otherwise, I am going to kick your ass, take that talisman, and get the hell out of here. Either way, I’m leaving.”
"是的,"我再次回答。"你爸爸是国王。我明白。我不在乎。我不在乎他，他的隐私偏执症，或者其他什么。我想。出去。我已经厌倦了浪费时间去得到它。"我的目光又回到了那匹问题中的种马身上。"你想显示你当国王的资格吗？送我回家吧。就这么简单。否则，我会踢你的屁股，拿着那个护身符，离开这个鬼地方。不管怎样，我都要离开。"
“Yes, you are. To Tartarus,” the king said as he snapped his wings once and landed at the other end of the aisle between the rows of tables. “You think you can defeat me?”
"是的，你是。国王一边说着，一边折断他的翅膀，降落在过道的另一端，两排桌子之间。"你以为你能打败我吗?"
I took another drink off the bottle, rolled it languidly in my mouth, swallowed, and grinned. “Ayep.”
我又从瓶子上拿下一杯酒，懒洋洋地把它塞进嘴里，咽了口，咧嘴笑了。"是的。"
“Husband, perhaps we should–” Persephone began.
"丈夫，也许我们应该——"珀尔塞福涅开始说。
“No!” He stomped his foot. “It is time for these outsiders to know their place. I have tolerated that yellow strumpet. Tolerated the debaucheries she’s introduced. Tolerated the inclusion of more outsiders. Enough is enough!”
"不!"他跺了跺脚。"是时候让这些局外人知道自己的位置了。我已经容忍了那个黄色的妓女。容忍她带来的放荡。容忍更多局外人的加入。够了，够了!"
Persephone rolled her eyes. “Perhaps we should take this to the throne room where there is more space, fewer innocent bystanders, and less furniture to break?” she finished sharply, glaring at him and then me.
珀尔塞福涅翻了个白眼。"也许我们应该把这个带到王座厅，那里有更多的空间，更少的无辜旁观者，更少的家具可以打破?"她尖锐地说完，瞪着他，然后是我。
The king blinked. “Oh. Yes. Of course, dear. I need my sword, anyway.” He jabbed a wingtip at me. “I will obliterate you anon!” And then he turned and started towards the door.
国王眨了眨眼睛。"哦。是的。当然，亲爱的。反正我也需要我的剑。"他用翼尖戳了我一下。"我马上就把你消灭掉!"然后他转身朝门口走去。
Tenebra, Whisper, and Stygius flew around Goldenblood and me. The ‘reformed’ Reaper grinned, and we smacked our hooves together. The king’s children, however, proved far less enthusiastic. ‘R U Crazy?!’ the batpony stallion asked.
和Stygius在Goldenblood和我周围飞来飞去。"改过自新的"收割者咧嘴一笑，我们的蹄子一起啪啪作响。然而，国王的孩子们却远没有那么热情。你疯了吗蝙蝠种马问。
“What are you thinking? He’ll kill you, Blackjack!” Tenebra squeaked with an edge of panic in her voice.
"你在想什么？他会杀了你的，黑杰克!"坦内布拉的声音里带着一丝惊慌的尖叫。
“Hey, Blackjack, who’s the scarred dude?” Whisper asked with a nod of her head at Goldenblood, who was keeping to the back with his eyes low.
"嘿，黑杰克，那个伤痕累累的家伙是谁?"Goldenblood低着头问道。
Screwing my face up, I answered them in turn. “No.” To Tenebra, “I’m thinking I’m going to kick his royal ass till I get that talisman from him.” And then I swooped a hoof around Whisper and shoved her in front of Goldenblood. “Whisper, meet your father, Goldenblood. Goldenblood, meet your daughter, Whisper. Enjoy!”
我皱着眉头，依次回答了他们。"没有。"对Tenebra说,"我在想我要踢他皇室的屁股，直到我从他那里得到那个护身符。"然后我猛踩着Whisper的蹄子把她推到了Goldenblood前面。"小声说，见见你的父亲，金色的血液。金色的血液，见见你的女儿，Whisper。好好享受吧!"
I’m sure that, had I not been inebriated, a much more touching reunion could have been arranged. As it was, you could really see the family resemblance in the matching expressions of complete bafflement and shock. She had his eyes. He had her mane. Both just gaped at each other as they were both broadsided with emotions that neither had been very good at dealing with. Both of them clearly didn’t know if they should laugh, cry, or kill me. To preclude that last one, I trotted out of the room as quickly as my hooves could carry me, whistling a merry drinking tune as Stygius, Tenebra, and the other diners who hadn’t already gone to claim seats followed.
我相信，如果我没有喝醉的话，可以安排一次更加感人的团聚。事实上，你可以在完全困惑和震惊的配对表情中真正看到家族的相似之处。她的眼睛和他一模一样。他有她的鬃毛。两个人只是目瞪口呆地看着对方，因为他们都情绪激动，都不善于处理这种情绪。他们俩显然不知道是该笑，该哭，还是该杀了我。为了避免最后一个问题，我以我的蹄子能承受的最快速度跑出了房间，吹着欢快的口哨喝着调子，Tenebra的斯蒂吉乌斯和其他还没有去要座位的用餐者紧随其后。
‘Her father?’ Stygius’s board read. He started back, but I hooked a hoof around his neck and kept him going along with the rest of the herd, which seemed to
她父亲斯蒂吉乌斯的董事会宣布。他向后退去，但我用蹄子钩住他的脖子，让他跟着其他牛群一起走
have been thrilled by my challenge.
对我的挑战感到兴奋。
“Yup. She was born premature. Placed in stasis ‘till she was thawed out by a psychopath who needed a little bit of Fluttershy’s genetic material for leverage on Goldenblood,” I said as we trotted after the crowd who were filing into the throne room to watch. I turned to Tenebra. “What’s your father’s shadowy talent power thingy?”
"是的。她早产了。我们一边说着，一边沿着排队进入王座室观看的人群小跑着跟在后面。我转向了Tenebra。"你父亲神秘的超能力是什么?"
“Oblivion,” she answered.
"遗忘,"她回答。
I stopped in my tracks. “Seriously? Oblivion? What kind of power is that?! Why not just have an ‘I win’ power?”
我停下脚步。"真的吗？遗忘？这是什么力量?！为什么不拥有'我赢了'的力量呢?"
“He does.” Tenebra glowered at me. “And you might have asked that before you challenged him to a fight!”
"他知道。"Tenebra怒视着我。"在你向他挑战之前，你应该先问问他这个问题!"
I took a deep breath. “Okay. So this oblivion thingy power. How does it work?” I asked as I resumed the walk towards the doorway, the alcohol fueled anger now contesting with the possibility that I just fucked up big time.
我深吸了一口气。"好吧。所以这个遗忘的东西的力量。它是如何工作的?"当我继续向门口走去的时候，我问道，酒精燃起的愤怒现在正在和我刚刚搞砸的大事的可能性进行抗争。
“He casts a field of dark energy. It rips a pony apart until nothing remains, not even blood,” Tenebra said flatly, then hissed. “How could you do this? I thought…” her eyes fell, and I turned and seized her, giving her the strongest hoof-curling kiss I possibly could. Maybe it was the proficiency with kissing, or possibly it was the booze breath, but either way, it floored her with a dazed expression.
"他投射出一个暗能量场。它把一匹小马撕成碎片，直到什么都不剩，甚至连血都没有,"Tenebra平静地说，然后发出嘶嘶声。"你怎么能这样做呢？我想......"她的眼睛掉了下来，我转过身去抓住她，给了她一个我能做到的最强烈的卷蹄吻。也许是因为接吻的熟练程度，也许是因为酒气熏天，但不管怎样，这都让她目瞪口呆。
Stygius now appeared positively alarmed as I nudged him along. “Now. This oblivion thingy. Is it instant?” He shook his head. “Quick as you teleporting?” A slower, more unsure shake of his head. “A second or so to go off?” He paused, thought, then gave a tiny little nod. Okay. I could deal with that. “Has anyone ever challenged your father like this before?” He blinked in surprise, then tapped his hoof once. “Recently?” I asked. A head shake. “Before you were born?” A nod.
我用肘轻轻推了一下斯提吉乌斯，他现在显得非常惊慌。"现在。这个被遗忘的东西。是即食的吗?"他摇了摇头。"就像你瞬移那么快?"他慢慢地，更不确定地摇了摇头。"一秒钟左右就爆炸了?"他停顿了一下，想了想，然后微微点了点头。好吧。我可以处理。"以前有人这样挑战过你父亲吗?"他惊讶地眨了眨眼，然后轻轻地敲了敲蹄子。"最近?"我问道。摇头。"在你出生之前?"点头。
Okay… I gave him a hug and a brief kiss on the lips... then a firmer smooch... damn, he was a nice kisser… at the doorway to the throne room. “You’re a good pony. Thanks for helping me. Go and see to Whisper.”
好吧......我给了他一个拥抱和一个简短的吻......然后是一个更坚定的吻......该死，他是一个很好的接吻......在王座室的门口。"你是一匹好马。谢谢你帮我。去看看Whisper。"
I started in, but he stopped me. ‘Don’t kill my dad,’ he wrote with a worried
我开始了，但是他阻止了我。"别杀我爸爸,"他忧心忡忡地写道
expression. Then he erased part with a wing tip. ‘Don’t die.’
表达式。然后他用翼尖擦掉了一部分。不要死
“Pfft. As if that would stop me,” I said, leaving Stygius behind. I levitated my spear and gave it a few trial swings. Hmmm… my horn glowed, and I started to shed my armor. If I was going to win this, it wasn’t going to be with fancy purple armor. I took another swig of whiskey as Hades strode out before his throne. He'd donned resplendent black gothic armor topped with a silver crown set with a huge black jewel. The whole thing looked like it belonged in a different millennium. His huge sword resembled a great black bat’s wing. There must have been somepony here with fancy magic armor-donning spells or something for him to get it all on so quickly. He launched himself into the air, huge sword clenched between special curved hooks in the vambraces on his forehooves, and stayed aloft easily. Huh, never saw that before! He had the advantage on me in size, strength, armor, weaponry, flight, and destructive magical power.
"噗。好像这样就能阻止我似的,"我说，把斯提吉乌斯留在了身后。我把长矛悬浮起来，试了几下。嗯......我的角闪闪发光，我开始卸下我的盔甲。如果我想赢得这场比赛，我不会选择华丽的紫色盔甲。当哈迪斯大步走到他的宝座前时，我又喝了一大口威士忌。他身穿华丽的黑色哥特式盔甲，头戴银色王冠，上面镶嵌着一颗巨大的黑色宝石。整件事看起来就像是属于另一个千年。他那把巨大的剑就像一只巨大的黑蝙蝠的翅膀。这里一定有一匹小马，穿着奇特的魔法盔甲或者其他什么东西，能让他这么快就完成任务。他把自己抛向空中，巨大的剑紧握在前蹄支架上特殊弯曲的钩子之间，轻而易举地悬在空中。哈，以前从没见过！他在体型、力量、盔甲、武器、飞行和毁灭性的魔力方面都比我强。
I had the advantage of being too drunk to care.
我有一个优势，就是喝得太醉了，所以不在乎。
Persephone stepped between us. “A challenge has been made. The duel will be fought until surrender or a challenger is slain or incapacitated. Blackjack, what are your terms if victorious?” Persephone asked me coolly, clearly not happy with me this moment.
珀尔塞福涅走到我们中间。"这是一个挑战。决斗将一直进行到投降或挑战者被杀或丧失能力为止。黑杰克，如果你赢了，你的条件是什么?"珀尔塞福涅冷静地问我，显然此刻对我不满意。
“I want his shadow talismany thingamajigger that will get me home,” I said. “Are there any rules? Like, no gelding?” My question made him blink. “What? I’ve only done it onc… er… twice! I think. Maybe three times…”
"我希望他的影子能带我回家,"我说。""有什么规定吗？比如，没有阉马?"我的问题使他眨了眨眼。"什么？我只做过一次......呃......两次！我想。也许三次......"
“I would greatly appreciate it if you didn’t,” the pale batpony said coolly. “We’re trying for a third.” Hades blushed and spluttered, and Persephone smiled and gave a small nod. “And husband? Your terms?”
"如果你不介意的话，我会非常感激的,"苍白的蝙蝠马冷冷地说。"我们正在努力实现第三个目标。"哈迪斯脸红了，语无伦次，珀尔塞福涅微笑着点了点头。""那么丈夫呢？你的条件?"
The question shook him from his embarrassment. “Her life!” the stallion said, pointing the sword at me dramatically. Persephone sighed and shook her head. She looked at me. “The terms are set. Do you agree?” I nodded. I didn’t have anything left to lose at this point. Persephone nodded and walked to the sideline. She closed her eyes, and a shimmery field of white formed a large cylinder in the middle of the throne room like a veil with the two of us inside. “Any who leave the circle of moonlight will forfeit. Begin.”
这个问题使他从尴尬中惊醒过来。"她的生活!"那匹种马说，戏剧性地用剑指着我。珀尔塞福涅叹了口气，摇了摇头。她看着我。"条件已经确定。你同意吗?"我点点头。此时此刻，我已经没有什么可以失去的了。珀尔塞福涅点点头，走到场边。她闭上了眼睛，一片闪闪发光的白色田野在王座室中央形成了一个大圆筒，就像一个面纱，我们两个人在里面。"任何离开月光圈的人都将受到惩罚。开始。"
Hades wasted no time. I watched him hook the sword with both grips and launch himself at me like a comet of darkness, roaring a battle cry. Goldenblood had
哈迪斯没有浪费时间。我看着他用双手勾住剑，像一颗黑暗的彗星一样向我发射，发出战斗的呐喊。金色的血液
been right, damn it. He should have used his magic and just obliterated me, but it looked like he wanted to put on a show. The king appeared like a force of pure annihilation, the huge weapon certain to cleave me into Blackjack chunks. I’m sure plenty of ponies would find it terrifying but my drunken haze blurred all that away; I thought only one thing: ‘Goddesses, he’s slow.’
我是对的，该死的。他应该用他的魔法把我消灭掉，但是看起来他是想演戏。国王看上去就像一股纯粹的歼灭之力，这把巨大的武器一定会把我撕成碎片。我相信很多小马会觉得这很可怕，但是我醉醺醺的模糊了这一切;我只想到一件事:'女神，他很迟钝。'
I had time to fill my mouth with whiskey and set the haft of the spear perpendicularly to block his vertical chop, raising my hooves and magic to brace the pole. I wasn’t an expert at fighting with spears, but blocking seemed simple enough. The blow bit three quarters of the way through the wooden haft, and Hades sneered at me. “You shall regret your foolish and presumpt–”
我有时间用威士忌填满我的嘴，竖起矛尖挡住他垂直的砍伐，抬起我的蹄子，用魔法支撑住杆子。我不是用长矛作战的专家，但拦截似乎很简单。那一拳打穿了木柄的四分之三处，哈迪斯冷笑了我一下。"你会后悔你的愚蠢和冒昧——"
I spit my mouthful of whiskey right in his eyes. Too bad he hadn’t included a visor on that armor of his. The crown might have looked awesome, but it didn’t bring much to the fight. And as he flapped back, I snapped the spear over my knee at the cut. Then I tossed the pointy bit aside as he recovered, levitating the two-foot-long stub far more easily. Now I had a baton tipped with a nice metal cap. “Okay. Let’s dance, Kingy!”
我把满口的威士忌吐在他的眼睛里。可惜他的盔甲上没有遮阳帽。这顶王冠看起来很棒，但是并没有给比赛带来什么好处。当他拍打回来的时候，我用长矛在膝盖上划了一道口子。然后我把尖钻头扔到一边，他恢复，漂浮的两英尺长的存根更容易得多。现在我有了一个带有漂亮金属帽的警棍。"好吧。让我们跳舞吧，金吉!"
“You outsider tart! I shall–” he began grandly, but I wasn’t going to wait around for speeches. In an instant, I was inside his reach. That sword might have been huge, ridiculously sharp, and probably magical to boot, but it was damned useless when I was this close in and repeatedly hammering a baton against his head like a drummer. He unhooked a hoof, raising it to shield his face from my strikes. “You cowardly knave–” he started to say, and then I teleported to the other side of him and smashed my baton against his head from that side. Now he couldn’t even unhook his ginormous sword. “Stop it!” he roared in pain and frustration, flying up and away from me.
"你这个局外人！我会的——"他盛气凌人地开口说道，但我不打算等着听他的演讲。转眼间，我就进入了他的视线。那把剑可能是巨大的，可笑的锋利，而且很可能是魔法的启动，但它是无用的时候，我这么接近，并反复锤击一个警棍在他的头像一个鼓手。他卸下一只蹄子，抬起它来挡住我的攻击。"你这个胆小鬼——"他开始说，然后我瞬移到他的另一边，从那一边用我的警棍猛击他的头。现在他连自己的巨剑都解不开了。"住手!"他在痛苦和沮丧中咆哮，飞向远离我的地方。
Till I teleported onto his back and smashed the crown from his head. “Yer sure a talker for a fight. Yee haw!” I crowed, hitting him again.
直到我瞬移到他的背上，把他头上的王冠砸碎。"你真是个能说会道的人。呀哈!"我叫道，又打了他一下。
I really should have known better. Instead of more insults calling me a coward, he launched himself straight up and smashed me into the roof. Now I really missed that armor! The booze took off a lot of the hurt, but I sure didn’t want another of those. He reared up again, and I teleported off and back to the ground.
我真应该早点知道的。他没有再辱骂我是懦夫，而是直接跳了起来，把我摔到了屋顶上。现在我真的很想念那身盔甲！酒精带走了很多伤痛，但我肯定不想再有第二次了。它又站起来了，我瞬移回地面。
“Enough!” he roared, and I felt something jerk inside me as a dark field started to form. It didn’t hurt… precisely… but I teleported again several feet away in
"够了!"他吼了一声，我感到身体里有什么东西在抽搐，一片黑暗的田野开始形成。确切地说，我并没有受伤，但是我又在几英尺远的地方瞬移了
time to watch the black basalt floor rip away, the field tearing the stone to rocks, the rocks to dust, and the dust to… whatever dust became when you tore that apart. Oblivion! Okay. Not– another pocket of darkness began to crackle around me.
是时候看着黑色的玄武岩地面被撕裂，原野把石头撕成碎片，石头变成灰尘，还有灰尘，不管你把它撕裂成什么样子。遗忘！好吧。不再有一片黑暗开始在我周围噼啪作响。
Shit. I teleported out of it again, and once again his dark magic enveloped the floor and empty air. And again. Since losing my armor plating, teleportation had become a lot easier… but all these teleports in succession were starting to make my horn ache. He sweated with his own arcane exertions, but where my magic was gone once I’d spent it, his dark fields remained where he cast them. I was running out of places to teleport to. And worse, he swooshed around like an overgrown… well… bat! I teleported onto his back again, but this time he flipped upside down, and I scrambled to hang on, let alone attack.
该死。我又一次瞬移出去，他的黑魔法又一次笼罩了地板和空气。再来一次。自从失去了我的装甲板，远距离传送变得容易多了......但是所有这些连续的远距离传送开始让我的角疼痛。他因为自己的神秘活动而汗流浃背，但是一旦我用完了我的魔法，他的黑暗领域仍然保留在他施放它们的地方。我已经没有地方可以传送了。更糟糕的是，他像一只杂草丛生的......嗯......蝙蝠一样到处乱窜！我又一次瞬移到了他的背上，但这次他倒过来了，我挣扎着抓住他，更不用说攻击了。
Funny. This had all gone differently in my head. I’d challenge. Beat him. Get home. Why was this not happening? I fired a string of magic bullets, but all they did was beat up the back of his helmet. A half dozen rounds later and I felt like I was pushing burnout.
有意思。这一切在我的脑海中完全不同。我会挑战。打败他。回家吧。为什么这一切没有发生？我发射了一连串的魔法子弹，但他们所做的只是打在他的头盔后面。打了半打以后，我觉得自己已经筋疲力尽了。
Damn it. Why didn’t I have a super monster horn like LittlePip? That’d be so useful right now!
该死。为什么我没有像小pip那样的超级大号？那现在就有用了！
Fortunately, his fancy armor had enough decorations for me to grab that I was able to cling to his back like a tick, levitating bottle and baton. Couldn’t oblivion himself, now could he? And now that I was stuck to his rump, I brought my baton around and fell back to a tried and true crotch strike! The weighted head came down… and clanged against something metal that rang like a bell! “Oh come on! Nopony ever armors that!”
幸运的是，他那华丽的盔甲上有足够的装饰品让我抓住，我可以像虱子一样抓住他的背，漂浮在空中的瓶子和警棍。他不能忘记自己，现在可以吗？现在，我被他的臀部卡住了，我带着我的指挥棒，回到了一个可靠的和真正的胯部击打！沉重的脑袋掉了下来......撞到了什么金属物体上，发出叮当的响声，像个铃铛！"哦，得了吧！小马从来不装甲!"
“Unscrupulous strumpet! Do you think you’re the first so craven?” the inverted batpony said… and then stopped flying. We dropped between two fields of darkness, and he fell down on me like a dropped armory. I heard several things in my chest making crunchy noises, and even with the whiskey, I felt like I’d just taken a twelve gauge buckshot blast to the chest. “Drunkards make horrible fighters.”
"肆无忌惮的妓女！你以为你是第一个这么胆小的吗?"倒转的蝙蝠说...然后停止了飞行。我们在两片黑暗的田野中间掉了下来，他就像一个空投的军械库一样倒在我身上。我听到胸腔里有几个东西发出嘎吱嘎吱的声音，即使喝了威士忌，我还是感觉像是被十二口径的铅弹击中了胸腔。"酒鬼成为可怕的战士。"
Hades heaved himself off me, becoming airborne once more as I struggled to keep my focus. He wanted to gloat? Fine. I reached over with my magic and scooped up his crown, plopping it on my head. “There! Oblitawhatchit me now,
哈迪斯把身子从我身上挪开，在我努力集中注意力的时候，他又一次飞到了空中。他想幸灾乐祸？好吧。我用我的魔法伸出手，抓起他的王冠，把它扑通一声放在我的头上。"那儿！奥布利塔瓦切特我现在,
jackass!” Ow. Talking hurt. Strike that, breathing hurt. Oh, that wasn’t good.
蠢货!"噢。说话很伤人。打那个，呼吸很痛。这可不妙。
To my shock, he didn’t. I supposed he liked his crown. “You wish to be rent limb from limb? So be it.” And again he went aloft as I pulled myself to my hooves and backed away amidst the patches of darkness. Why didn’t he just get rid of them? It’d sure make his flying easier… unless he couldn’t! Maybe these dark patches were like fire: once he lit them he couldn’t just unlight them. I supposed eventually they’d go out… or he’d need a new throne room. The sword attached to his forehooves ripped down at me again and again. I tasted blood on every breath. This fight was going to be over for me soon. I needed… I… “Aw, shit…” I muttered. This would be low. “Sorry about this.”
令我震惊的是，他没有。我猜想他喜欢他的王冠。""你想被肢解吗？那就这样吧。"我使劲蹬着蹄子，在一片片黑暗中向后退去，它又一次飞上了高空。他为什么不干脆把它们处理掉？这肯定会让他飞起来更容易...除非他不能！也许这些黑色的斑块就像火一样:一旦他点燃了它们，他就不能简单地把它们拆开。我猜他们最终会走出去......或者他需要一个新的王座室。他前蹄上的剑一次又一次地向我刺来。我每一次呼吸都尝到血腥味。这场战斗对我来说很快就要结束了。我需要...我..。."噢，该死......"我咕哝着。这个数字很低。"很抱歉。"
“No apology can save you now!” he roared as he dove at me with another swing.
"现在道歉救不了你了!"他一边咆哮，一边用另一个秋千向我扑来。
I sighed, raised my baton, and then flung my other weapon straight at his face. The glowing whiskey bottle arched straight and true. Of course, a bottle, even half filled with the fluid of heaven, wouldn’t do much to him. It might not even break. He could have deflected it… but he wouldn’t. No, he brought his sword right through the spinning glass. Time seemed to crawl a moment as it shattered into a dozen glistening shards. Glowing shards…
我叹了口气，举起警棍，然后把另一把武器直接扔向他的脸。发光的威士忌酒瓶直挺挺地拱起来。当然，一个瓶子，即使装了半瓶天上的液体，也不会对他造成多大伤害。它甚至可能不会破裂。他本可以避开的...但他不会。不，他的剑正好穿过了旋转的玻璃。时间仿佛在一瞬间爬行，粉碎成一打闪闪发光的碎片。发光的碎片..。
That I directed straight into his eyes.
我直接对着他的眼睛说。
The scream of agony that ripped out of him echoed through the throne room, and I dove in time to prevent him from crashing right into me. He flailed and staggered, crippled and blind. With the weapon on his hoof, he couldn’t even stand up right. He launched himself into the air and crashed against the ceiling. “Go out, you blind moron,” I shouted up at him. Instead, though, he crashed right back down at me as he screamed in rage, humiliation, and agony.
撕裂他的痛苦尖叫声回荡在王座厅，我及时下潜以防他撞到我身上。他挣扎着，蹒跚着，又瘸又瞎。武器在他的蹄子上，他甚至不能站起来的权利。他一跃而起，撞在天花板上。"滚出去，你这个瞎了眼的白痴,"我冲他喊道。然而，当他在愤怒、羞辱和痛苦中尖叫时，他马上向我扑倒过来。
“Surrender! This fight is over, love!” Persephone begged.
"投降吧！战斗结束了，亲爱的!"珀尔塞福涅恳求道。
“Father, please!” screamed Tenebra.
"爸爸，求你了!"尖叫着，Tenebra。
“No!” roared the king. “I’ll die before I surrender!”
"不!"国王吼道。"我宁死也不投降!"
I could have killed him by simply staying put and letting him stagger into one of his patches of oblivion. Others of the court were trying to stop him too, but he was in a frenzy, slashing wildly at all who came near. He’d left the circle in his
我本可以杀了他，只要呆在原地，让他摇摇晃晃地走进他的遗忘之地。宫廷里的其他人也试图阻止他，但是他发狂了，疯狂地砍向所有靠近他的人。他把圆圈留在了自己的脑袋里
rage and blindness; I’d won, but that was beside the point now. “Get back, everypony!” I shouted. I levitated over the pointy end of my spear as he swung his sword around, half of it being torn to pieces as it passed through a shadow field. A flash, and I was on his back as he lifted himself once more.
愤怒和盲目;我赢了，但是这已经不是重点了。"退后，小马们!"我喊道。我悬浮在我的长矛尖端上，他挥舞着他的剑，当剑穿过一片阴影区域时，剑的一半被撕成了碎片。一瞬间，我仰面躺在他的背上，他再次站了起来。
A half dozen thrusts with the pointy half shredded his wings, sending us both to the ground for the final time. That would have been enough for most, but he still had fight in him. I threw my forehooves around his neck and squeezed as he struggled. “Hold him!” I yelled as my ribs felt like they were exploding.
半打的推进与尖的一半撕碎了他的翅膀，把我们两个到地面上的最后一次。这对大多数人来说已经足够了，但是他仍然有斗志。我用前蹄勒住他的脖子，在他挣扎的时候使劲挤。"抓住他!"我的肋骨感觉要爆炸了，我大叫起来。
Whisper was there in an instant on his other side, grappling with him. “What do you think I am, an earth pony?” she said as she tried to keep him from plunging through a patch of black energy. Stygius and Tenebra also tried to keep him put, the batpony mare struggling with her own jerky motions.
一瞬间，他的另一边出现了窃窃私语者，与他扭打在一起。"你以为我是什么，地球上的小马吗?"她一边说，一边试图阻止他穿过黑暗能量。斯蒂吉乌斯和特内布拉也试图让它保持原位，这匹雌马正在挣扎着克制自己急促的动作。
Finally I’d had enough. My magic unhooked the clasps on his helmet, and I tore it off. Time to finish this. I raised the baton and brought it down on his head again and again. “You. Should. Have. Let. Me. Go!” I hissed with every strike. On the sixth, he finally, finally collapsed. His head was a bloody mess, but he was still breathing. I collapsed against him too, leaning back and coughing up blood. “Oh. But you can have this back,” I said, negligently lifting off the crown and tossing it at his hooves. The ring landed on edge, bouncing and rolling away from us both. I turned and smiled at Persephone. “Where’s the talisman, and the nearest doctor?”
我终于受够了。我用魔法解开了他头盔上的扣环，把它扯了下来。是时候结束了。我一次又一次地举起警棍砸在他的头上。"你。应该。有。让。我。去吧!"每一击我都发出嘶嘶声。到了六号，他终于，终于倒下了。他的脑袋血肉模糊，但还有呼吸。我也倒在他身上，向后靠着，咳出血来。"哦。"但你可以把这个拿回去,"我说，毫不在意地摘下王冠，扔到它的蹄子上。戒指落在边缘，弹跳和滚动远离我们两个。我转过身，对着Persephone微笑。"护身符在哪儿?最近的医生在哪儿?"
But all the batponies weren’t looking at me. They were staring at the crown. Tenebra was down with a seizure, but Stygius and five other ponies scrambled for the rolling crown. The circlet deflected off of one pony, then another, then off a pillar, and then disappeared into a patch of black energy. I watched dully as it seemed to expand then burst in a shower of gold and gem. A stunned silence filled the air. “Uh… hello?” I asked dully. “Talisman?”
但是所有的蝙蝠战士都不看我。他们凝视着王冠。特内布拉癫痫发作倒下了，但斯蒂吉乌斯和其他五匹小马争抢着要翻滚的王冠。小圆圈先是从一匹小马身上偏离，然后又从一根柱子上偏离，最后消失在一片黑色的能量中。我沉闷地看着它似乎在膨胀，然后在一阵金子和宝石的雨中破裂。空气中顿时鸦雀无声。"呃......喂?"我无精打采地问。"护身符?"
Persephone gaped at me in horror, as if recognizing me for the first time. “It was on… the crown.”
珀尔塞福涅惊恐地瞪着我，仿佛第一次认出了我。"它在......王冠上。"
…
Oh…
哦..。
“So… what happens now?” I asked, the adrenaline wearing off and… oh...
"那么......现在怎么办?"我问道，肾上腺素逐渐消失。
wow... gravity was heavy... I struggled to concentrate as I peered blearily around at the assembled batponies. Their looks of profound bafflement answered me. “Oh, shit…” I muttered.
哇...重力很重...我努力集中注意力，我昏昏沉沉地看着周围组装好的蝙蝠战车。他们深深的困惑回答了我的问题。"哦，该死......"我喃喃自语道。
Suddenly, everything in the room inverted color, and I stared around in bewilderment as I struggled to breathe with the broken ribs. A moment later, the room returned to normal. One by one, the fields of energy dissipated, and nopony dared move. Then I heard it.
突然间，房间里的一切都变了色，我困惑地四处张望，因为我的肋骨断了，难以呼吸。过了一会儿，房间又恢复了正常。能量场一个接一个地消失了，小马也不敢动了。然后我听到了。
Rain. Rain on the roof. I turned my eyes to the stained glass windows, beholding them as faintly lit. “Back. I’m back,” I said as I stood and started towards the door. “I’ll be right there, Glory…” I muttered with a smile… and then everything went black.
下雨。屋顶上有雨。我把目光转向彩色玻璃窗，看到它们依稀发亮。"回来。我回来了,"我说着站起身朝门口走去。"我马上就到，晨辉......"我微笑着喃喃自语......然后一切都变黑了。
* * *
* * *
It would have been nice to come out of unconsciousness in a nice warm bed with Glory snuggled up on one side of me and P-21 spooning on the other. Nice, but unrealistic. So when I woke up in a bed sans snuggles and spoons, I at least took solace in the facts that the bed was warm, the sheets were clean, and the sound of rain told me that I was home... or at least back in the normal world. And I was hungry again! Really, the hungover feeling really didn’t bother me all that much. Yay for nausea.
如果能从昏迷中醒来，躺在一张温暖舒适的床上，晨辉依偎在我的一边，P-21在另一边搂着我，那该多好啊。很好，但是不现实。所以当我在没有依偎和勺子的床上醒来时，我至少得到了安慰，因为床是温暖的，床单是干净的，雨声告诉我我回家了......或者至少回到了正常的世界。我又饿了！真的，宿醉的感觉真的没有那么困扰我。为恶心欢呼吧。
Unfortunately, the alcohol I’d drunk was demanding to be let out, so I had to leave the comfy infirmary bed for the bathroom. The light coming through the windows was dim enough to be only a small knife through my head, fortunately. Soreness. Tiredness. Wonderful fatigue. I felt a little wobbly, but my mouth was full of the aftertaste of healing potion; I’d be fine-ish. If my head didn’t explode in the next ten minutes. After using the facilities, I stood in the bathroom doorway and stretched. It felt odd; I’d expected… well… more of being a patient. This room was a dozen beds surrounding a large cart loaded with healing potions and stacks of bandages in cardboard boxes marked with the Stable-Tec logo.
不幸的是，我喝的酒要求放出来，所以我不得不离开舒适的医务室病床去卫生间。幸运的是，透过窗户的光线很暗，只是一把小刀子刺穿了我的脑袋。疼痛。疲劳。美妙的疲劳。我感到有点颤抖，但是我的嘴里充满了治疗药水的余味，我会没事的。如果我的头在接下来的十分钟内没有爆炸的话。上完厕所后，我站在浴室门口，伸了个懒腰。这感觉很奇怪，我本以为......嗯......更像是一个病人。这个房间有十几张床，周围有一辆大推车，上面装满了治疗药剂和成堆的绷带，放在印有Stable-Tec标志的纸板箱里。
If I had been stuck in bed, though, I’d have had plenty of company. King Hades lay on the opposite side of the circular room with his eyes and wings bandaged, and the bald and bandaged Charm watched me from her own bed. Tenebra and Stygius hovered around the king. The other beds were all occupied with
如果我被困在床上，我会有很多同伴。哈迪斯国王躺在圆形房间的对面，他的眼睛和翅膀上缠着绷带，秃顶和缠着绷带的魅力在她自己的床上看着我。特内布拉和斯蒂吉乌斯在国王周围盘旋。其他的床都被占满了
batponies wrapped up in strips of gauze. Was this really the most emergency care they had? I’d left Charm in the care of a… well… I’d assumed he was a nurse. No doctors? Even Stable 99 had had more medically trained personnel than this!
用薄纱包裹的蝙蝠战车。这真的是他们接受的最紧急的治疗吗？我把Charm交给一个..。.我以为他是个护士。没有医生？即使是稳定99也有比这更多的受过医学训练的人员！
“You’re a cunt, Blackjack,” Whisper said sourly from a chair beside the bathroom door, startling me so much I half fell over.
"你是个婊子，黑杰克,"卫生间门边的椅子上，Whisper酸溜溜地说，吓了我一跳，我差点儿摔倒。
Steadying myself, I turned to face the angry yellow mare. “So Deus said... many... many times,” I groaned, rubbing my head. “What’d I do?” I asked, blinking.
我稳住自己，转过身来面对那匹愤怒的黄色母马。"于是上帝说了......很多......很多次,"我抱怨着，摸着我的头。"我做了什么?"我眨着眼问道。
She growled, “You introduced me to my dad, that’s what! Fuck.” Oh. Yeah. I did do that, didn’t I? Her blue eyes were troubled, and she glared off to the side. “I thought he was dead.”
她咆哮道,"你把我介绍给我爸爸，就是这样！操。"哦。是的。我做到了，不是吗？她蓝色的眼睛里充满了忧虑，她怒视着旁边。"我以为他死了。"
“Sorry. Lots of folks did,” I replied. Public immolations via dragonfire left that impression. I narrowed my eyes as I peered at her. “You’re not going to try and fuck him too, right?”
"对不起。很多人都这么做,"我回答。公众通过火龙祭祀留下了这样的印象。我眯起眼睛看着她。"你不会也想上他吧?"
“Fuck you,” she growled, running a wing through her mane. “I don’t even know what the fuck to think about this. Fuck me.”
"去你妈的,"她咆哮着，鬃毛上长着一只翅膀。"我他妈的都不知道该怎么想。操我。"
“Clear it with Glory first,” I said flippantly and received a hoof to the shoulder. Hard. “Ow... seriously though, how are you two doing?”
"先用晨辉清理一下,"我轻率地说，接着一只蹄子踩在了肩膀上。用力。"噢......说真的，你们俩怎么样了?"
“How am I doing? How do you think I’m doing?” she said crossly. “Why do you have a talent for fucking up the lives of everypony you run into?” She thumped her head against the wall and then gave a little half smirk. “You fucking shredded Hades’s eyes. Fuck. I knew you were going to fuck his shit up. Now I don’t know what’s going to happen to things here.”
"我做得怎么样？你觉得我现在怎么样?"她生气地说。"为什么你有天赋去搞砸你遇到的每一匹小马的生活?"她用头撞墙，然后有点傻笑。"你他妈的把哈迪斯的眼睛撕碎了。操。我就知道你会搞死他。现在我不知道这里会发生什么事情。"
“Well, I had to do what I had to. Not like I wanted to,” I muttered, my head throbbing.
"嗯，我不得不做我必须做的事。不像我想的那样,"我咕哝着，脑袋抽搐着。
“Well, you excel at fucking things up,” she said, returning to smoldering resentment.
"好吧，你擅长把事情搞砸,"她说，又回到了郁积的怨恨中。
Hey, that wasn’t fair. “Most of the ponies I meet have fucked-up lives already. Not my fault if I’m a catalyst for what’s already there,” I countered, and to my surprise, she smiled. “What?”
这不公平。"我遇到的大多数小马都已经过着糟糕的生活。如果我是已经存在的事物的催化剂，那就不是我的错,"我反驳道，令我惊讶的是，她笑了。"什么?"
“Nothing. Just expected you to say you were sorry or some shit like that,” she said as she leaned back in the chair. “It’s… fuck. I don’t know. Sanguine was my father, or as close as I had to one, and he treated me like I was… I don’t know… a specimen. I knew he wanted his family back, but… I just assumed I’d be a part of it.” She smiled over at Stygius. “Then I met a good stallion, and now I’m doing all I can to start a family of my own.” And then she glared at me. “And then you throw my real father in my face without even a warning. And I missed the fight!”
"没什么。我还以为你会说对不起之类的屁话呢,"她向后靠在椅子上说。"这是......操。我不知道。桑吉尼是我的父亲，或者说是我最亲近的父亲，他对待我就好像我是......我不知道......一个标本。我知道他想要回他的家庭，但是......我只是认为我会成为其中的一部分。"她朝Stygius笑了笑。"后来我遇到了一匹好种马，现在我正竭尽全力组建自己的家庭。"然后她瞪着我。"然后你把我真正的父亲丢在我面前，甚至没有任何警告。我错过了比赛!"
“To be fair, I was drunk. I’m sort of a cunt when I’m drunk,” I said, staggering back to the bed and contemplating a few more hours… meh… save the world, or sleep? Damn it. I looked across at the king and his family. Oh, look: an easy segue! “How is he?”
"公平地说，我当时喝醉了。我喝醉的时候有点像个婊子,"我说，摇摇晃晃地回到床上，想着再过几个小时......嗯......拯救世界，还是睡觉？该死。我望着对面的国王和他的家人。哦，看，一个简单的继续！"他怎么样?"
“Do I look like a doctor?” she said sourly, but then answered, “Probably blind. They had to pick all the shards of glass out of his sockets before using the healing potions. Things had dust on ‘em. None of these batponies had a medical cutie mark, it seems. They just popped a few boxes of healing potions out of the stable. Stygius went to Meatlocker for a dose of Hydra, but by the time he got back…” she shook her head.
"我看起来像医生吗?"她酸溜溜地说，然后回答说:"可能是瞎了。在使用治疗药剂之前，他们不得不从他的眼窝里挑出所有的玻璃碎片。他们身上有灰尘。这些蝙蝠战马似乎都没有医学上的可爱标记。他们只是把几箱治疗药水从马厩里拿出来。斯蒂吉乌斯去肉食者那里服用了一剂海德拉，但是当他回来的时候......"她摇了摇头。
Damn. “And how’s Charm doing?” I asked, nodding to the still, bandaged filly.
该死。"Charm怎么样了?"我问道，同时向包扎着绷带的小姑娘点点头。
“Again, do you see a M.o.P. mark on my ass?”
"再问一次，你看到我屁股上有m.o.p.标记了吗?"
“Almost...” I grinned, examining her flank closely. Her eyes narrowed angrily.
"差不多......"我咧嘴一笑，仔细打量着她的侧腹。她愤怒地眯起眼睛。
“You are a cunt,” she said, smacking me with a hoof and– ow. Head. Body sliding... I took a seat on the floor. She smirked down at me, then turned back to Charm. “Anyway, I don’t know. She’s hurt and confused. Again, like most people you come in contact with,” Whisper growled, looking over at the filly. “They gave her a healing potion, as that, as I may have mentioned, is the beginning and end of their medical skills. Except for wrapping ponies in bandages, and they’re not very good at that.”
"你这个婊子,"她说，用蹄子抽我。头。身体在滑动......我在地板上坐了下来。她朝我傻笑了一下，然后又转向Charm。"不管怎样，我不知道。她很受伤很困惑。还是那句话，和你接触的大多数人一样,"Whisper咆哮着，低头看着小母马。"他们给了她一种治疗药水，正如我可能提到过的，这是他们医疗技能的开始和结束。除了用绷带把小马包起来，它们不太擅长这个。"
The Collegiate would be better able to help Charm. I needed to see what had happened to them… uuuuugh… I hissed softly through my teeth; Charm had given up a lot to save me. I owed her. But then Glory! Nothing but Glory. And smooching Glory! Nothing else ‘till that. No sir! A lot of things would have to happen after I saw Glory.
学院会更有能力帮助Charm。我需要看看他们到底发生了什么......呃......我从牙缝里发出轻轻的嘶嘶声;为了救我，魅力已经放弃了很多。我欠她的。但是，晨辉！只有晨辉。还有亲吻晨辉！除此之外没有别的了。不，先生！在我看了《晨辉》之后，很多事情都会发生。
The yellow pegasus smirked as if she was reading my mind. She rocked forward out of the chair and stepped towards me. “If you’re going to get back to Glory, you’d better go soon. Dad’s staying here till we’ve talked some more.”
那个黄飞马得意地笑着，好像在读我的心思。她从椅子上向前一摇，向我走来。"如果你想回到格洛里，你最好快点走。在我们谈完之前，爸爸会一直呆在这里。"
“I need–” I started to say when her hoof came around and smacked me upside the head. My dehydrated brain suddenly reminded me of the fun of hangovers.
"我需要——"我开始说，这时她的蹄子转过来拍了拍我的头。我脱水的大脑突然让我想起宿醉的乐趣。
“Right now, I don’t give a fuck what you need. When we’re done talking, I’ll bring him to you. You and he can do the whole ‘preventing Horizons from blowing up’ thing. I just wanted to let you know that you need to get out of here before we’re attacked again.”
"现在，我他妈的不在乎你需要什么。我们谈完后，我会把他带给你。你和他可以做所有"防止视野号爆炸"的事情。我只是想让你知道，你必须在我们再次受到攻击之前离开这里。"
“Attacked? By who?” I asked in bafflement.
""被攻击了？被谁?"我困惑地问。
“The Brood, the Harbingers, and a few dumb scavs who thought discovering Black Pony Mountain is actually Nightmare Citadel meant good looting grounds. Persephone and I are handling the defense.”
"魔龙军团，先驱者，还有一些愚蠢的拾荒者，他们认为发现黑马山实际上是噩梦城堡，意味着有很好的洗劫场所。珀尔塞福涅和我负责辩护。"
“Black…” I blinked. “Is that why the mountain…” I rubbed my forehead with a hoof as I sat back.
"布莱克......"我眨了眨眼。"这就是为什么山......"我坐回去的时候用蹄子蹭了蹭额头。
“Yeah. That great big black rock on the edge of the city? It was this castle. A placeholder, or something like that. Now that the talisman’s gone poof, the castle’s back. As you might imagine, it’s drawing a lot of fucking attention all of a sudden.”
"是的。城市边缘的那块巨大的黑色岩石？就是这座城堡。占位符之类的东西。现在护身符不见了，城堡又回来了。正如你可以想象的那样，它突然吸引了很多该死的注意力。"
That must have been a doozy of an enchantment, but now thinking back there had to be something special about the mountain. I immediately trotted to one of the clinic’s windows and stared out – oh damn, light sucked! – at a rainy… morning? Afternoon? My sense of time was all bonkers without a PipBuck. I looked out at the Core several miles distant. Hard to think that I’d been there just hours ago. “Were you able to repel them?” I asked.
那一定是一种非常奇妙的魔法，但是现在回想起来，这座山一定有些特别之处。我立刻跑到一家诊所的窗户前，盯着外面——哦，该死的，光线太差了！-在一个下雨的...早上？下午？我的时间观念完全失去了理智。我看着几英里外的核心。很难想象几个小时前我还在那里。"你能击退他们吗?"我问道。
“Most of these ponies may be inbred, but they can still fight. Sort of. Half of them practically shit themselves when they saw the sky for the first time. Tenebra managed to knock one of the enemies out before going all spasmy. That’s basically her version of a victory dance. I’ll give her caps for having the ovaries, but her bad wiring’s gonna get her killed,” Whisper said with what might actually have been concern. “The Brood were the only ones that were difficult. Those Harbingers seemed to think all they had to do was waltz through
"这些小马大多是近亲繁殖的，但它们仍然可以战斗。算是吧。当他们第一次看到天空的时候，有一半的人都吓得屁滚尿流。坦内布拉在全身痉挛之前，设法把一个敌人击倒了。这基本上就是她的胜利之舞。我会因为她有卵巢而给她戴帽子，但是她的神经错乱会让她送命的,"Whisper说，但是实际上可能有些担心。"布伦特一家是唯一一家比较难相处的。那些预兆者似乎认为他们所要做的就是跳着华尔兹通过
the front door. Dumbasses,” she snorted.
前门。笨蛋,"她哼了一声。
“Flyers? The Brood can’t…” I started to say, then guessed, “Cyberpony wings?” How could they have gotten the design? It hadn’t been accessed until Shadowbolt Tower!
"传单？"育雏不能......"我开始说，然后猜测,"赛博小马的翅膀?"他们是怎么得到这个设计的？直到暗影螺栓塔才进入系统！
“Bingo,” she said sourly. “And they’ve got zebra unicorn ones, too, doing magic. If they start showing up half dragon…” she trailed off and shook her head. “Anyway, you should get out now while you can.”
"好极了,"她酸溜溜地说。"他们还有斑马独角兽的鞋子，还会变魔术。如果他们开始出现半条龙......"她慢了下来，摇了摇头。"不管怎样，你应该趁现在还能走的时候赶紧离开。"
Great. I agreed. “Cyber zebra unicorns…” I frowned, something niggling in my mind. “Are they all mares?”
太好了。我同意了。"赛博斑马独角兽......"我皱起眉头，脑子里有点小问题。"它们都是母马吗?"
“The three I saw were.”
"我看到的三个是。"
“And did they look identical?”
"它们看起来一模一样吗?"
“Yeaaah... Why?” she asked with a scowl of bafflement. “You know them?”
"啊......为什么?"她疑惑地皱着眉头问道。"你认识他们?"
I scowled. Cyber zebra unicorns... I really… really wanted to see Morning Glory again, but if I was right… “I think I might.”
我皱起了眉头。赛博斑马独角兽...我真的...真的很想再看一次牵牛花，但如果我是对的..."我想我可能会。"
* * *
* * *
Whisper and Tenebra got us clear of the Citadel, flying Charm and me ponyback through the rain; fortunately, none of us were struck by the lightning flashing in the roiling clouds above. As we flew, I looked back at the majestic gothic castle rising up on the edge of the city. Its spires and minarets suggested it had never been intended to be attacked; after all, how could it be, hidden in the shadow world? Under siege, the Harbingers attacking from the west and the Brood from the east, it was already showing some damage. The number of little sporadic flashes and distant crackles suggested how bad the fighting was, but at the moment neither side appeared to have an advantage.
耳语和天波拉带我们离开了城堡，飞翔的魅力和我在雨中穿梭;幸运的是，我们没有人被上面翻滚的云层中闪烁的闪电击中。当我们飞行的时候，我回头看了一眼矗立在城市边缘的雄伟的哥特式城堡。它的尖顶和尖塔表明它从来没有被攻击的意图;毕竟，它怎么可能隐藏在阴暗的世界里呢？在被围困的情况下，先驱者从西面攻击，布伦特夫妇从东面攻击，它已经显示出一些破坏。零星的闪光和远处的爆裂声表明战斗是多么的糟糕，但是目前双方似乎都没有优势。
The pegasus and batpony set us down just north of the Skyport on Celestia Boulevard, in front of the lingerie shop my friends and I had sheltered in so long ago. “Be careful. You’ve been gone for three months. There’s no telling what’s happened in the meantime,” Whisper warned.
飞马和蝙蝠马把我们带到了Skyport以北的CelestiaBoulevard，就在我和朋友们很久以前藏身的那家内衣店前面。"小心点。你已经走了三个月了。现在还不知道发生了什么,"Whisper警告说。
“Don’t worry. I’m going to get help for Charm, then get straight to Glory,” I
"别担心。我要为魅力寻求帮助，然后直接获得晨辉。"
said, omitting mention of the short stop I’d have to make.
说，省略了我必须停留的短暂停留。
“You think maybe she’s better this way?” Whisper asked, gesturing to the filly now slung over my back underneath a black cloak to keep the rain off.
"你觉得她这样更好吗?"小声问道，指着背后披着一件黑斗篷挡雨的小母马。
“I think that that doesn’t matter,” I said firmly. “She helped me. She gets helped. If that turns her back into a bitch… well… not like I don’t have experience dealing with those, right?”
"我认为这无关紧要,"我坚定地说。"她帮了我。她得到了帮助。如果这让她变成了一个婊子......嗯......并不是说我没有处理这些事情的经验，对吧?"
“Are you trying to tell me something?” she asked with a sharp grin, then laughed. “It’s your head, either way.”
"你是想告诉我什么吗?"她咧嘴笑着问，然后笑了。"不管怎样，这都是你的头。"
“Blackjack, I…” Tenebra began, then averted her eyes as she flushed and pawed at the mud with a hoof.
"黑杰克，我.....。。」Tenebra开始了，然后转移了她的眼睛，她脸红了，用蹄子在泥地上乱抓。
“I’ll ask Glory. See what she says,” I told her brightly.
"我去问晨辉。看她说什么,"我愉快地告诉她。
“Perverts,” Whisper snorted, rolling her eyes. “Come on. Let’s get back. I want to hit the next wave from behind and really fuck their shit up.” She smiled at me. “Take care of yourself, Blackjack.”
"变态,"耳语哼了一声，转动着眼珠。"来吧。我们回去吧。我想从后面打下一个浪头，把他们打得屁滚尿流。"她冲我微笑。"照顾好自己，黑杰克。"
I adjusted my purple armor and sword – really, a baton was more my thing where melee weapons were concerned, but if I was lucky, I’d find somepony I could trade the sword to for a gun – and checked Charm one last time, then teleported straight to the Collegiate.
我调整了我的紫色盔甲和剑——实际上，在近战武器方面，指挥棒更适合我，但是如果我够幸运的话，我会找到一匹小马，我可以用剑换一把枪——最后检查一次符咒，然后直接传送到学院。
In a flash, I appeared at the gates, scaring the piss out of a guard. “See? That wasn’t so b–” I started to say, over my shoulder, and then I realized that I was alone. “Oh shit!” I teleported back to the filly sprawled and wet on the road. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry! Are you okay?”
刹那间，我出现在大门口，吓得一个卫兵尿裤子。""看见了吗？我越过肩膀开始说，然后我意识到我是一个人。"哦，该死!"我把自己传回到那只趴在路上浑身湿漉漉的小母马身边。"对不起。对不起！你还好吗?"
“Ow,” was all she muttered as I levitated her back onto my back and tried to teleport again… and again she fell with a shriek. At least this time I caught her before she landed in the mud.
"噢,"我把她背到我的背上，试图再次传送时，她只是咕哝了一声......然后她又尖叫着摔倒了。至少这次我在她掉进泥里之前抓住了她。
Teleporting with another pony was… a whole lot trickier when I wasn’t falling to my death. I could take myself no problem now, but teleporting somepony else just… didn’t happen. Six times I tried to teleport with Charm, and six times I failed. Charm, for her part, was amazingly patient. She didn’t scowl, or make sarcastic remarks… or… much of anything. And so I fell back to my old tried
和另一匹小马一起传送......在我没有摔死的时候，要复杂得多。我现在可以接受自己没有问题，但是传送其他小马只是...没有发生。我六次试图用魅力传送，六次都失败了。对她来说，魅力是非常有耐心的。她没有皱眉，也没有说讽刺的话......或者......任何事情。所以我又回到了我以前的尝试
and true method: walking. However, lacking cyber limbs and mechanical endurance, plus having to carry the filly… well… I found myself missing my old clanking limbs.
真正的方法是:走路。然而，缺乏赛博四肢和机械耐力，加上不得不背着小母马......嗯......我发现自己想念以前叮当作响的四肢。
As we skirted the edge of the river, I kept my eyes open for raiders, gangers, ghouls, or giant talking frogs. Instead, there was nothing. The murky waters were still and empty. I wasn’t exactly shooting sparks into the air, but at the very least I thought a suicidal bloatsprite might make a run at me. Instead, the only life I saw were some maggots wiggling furiously along some sopping wet boards…
当我们沿着河边走的时候，我睁大了眼睛，看有没有袭击者、分身、食尸鬼或者会说话的大青蛙。相反，什么都没有。浑水静静的，空荡荡的。我并没有向空中射出火花，但至少我认为一个有自杀倾向的浮肿怪物可能会朝我跑过来。相反，我看到的唯一的生命是一些蛆，沿着湿漉漉的木板疯狂地摆动.....。
Away from the Core.
远离核心。
I stood up and stared at the towers. It looked less like a city than ever. The soaring structures were now so heavily cabled together that it appeared as if giant spiders had moved in and webbed up the place. A glaring bolt of lightning struck the towers, and I watched it crackle down the sides. Just wait, I thought furiously. Just wait.
我站起来，凝视着双子塔。它看起来比以往任何时候都不像一个城市。这些高耸的建筑物现在用重重的电缆连接在一起，看起来就像是巨型蜘蛛爬了进来，在这个地方布满了网。一道耀眼的闪电击中了双子塔，我看着它沿着两侧劈啪作响。等着瞧吧，我疯狂地想。等着瞧。
We reached the front gates of the settlement built on top of the college, without the element of surprise, and the agitated-looking guardponies brandished their weapons, made me halt, and demanded that I identify myself and state my business with the Collegiate.
我们来到了学院顶楼的居民点的前门，没有一丝惊讶，那些看起来很激动的守卫挥舞着他们的武器，让我停下来，要求我表明身份，并向学院报告我的事情。
“Blackjack. Need to talk to Triage and Professor Zodiac, and maybe Sagittarius if he’s around,” I said crossly. “I’ve also got a filly who needs to use her miraculous healing machine.”
"黑杰克。需要和分诊医生和十二宫教授谈谈，如果他在的话，可能还要和射手座谈谈。"我生气地说。"我还有一匹小母马，她需要使用她那神奇的治愈机器。"
“Oh Celestia… get the fuck out of here! I’m not dealing with more of this shit,” the guard shouted, not in fear or anger but in… annoyance.
"哦，塞莱斯蒂亚......给我滚出去！我不想再跟这些狗屎打交道了,"警卫喊道，不是因为恐惧或愤怒，而是......因为烦恼。
“Uh, maybe you didn’t hear me. I’m Security. I need to talk to Triage. Right now,” I said as I approached the gate guards.
"呃，也许你没听见我说的话。我是保安。我需要和分诊部谈谈。就现在,"我边说边走近门卫。
“Right. And I’m the Lightbringer,” drawled the earth pony guard, a stallion to boot. “Go piss off.”
"对。"我是光明使者,"地球上的小马护卫慢吞吞地说，还有一匹种马。"滚开。"
“I’ve got a kid who’s hurt!” I snapped. “You guys do healing, last I checked!” I shifted the cloak enough so they could see the filly beneath.
"我有个孩子受伤了!"我厉声说道。"据我所知，你们是做治疗的!"我把斗篷换了个位置，这样他们就能看到下面的小母马了。
The two looked at the filly sourly. “You got caps? The machine’s not cheap,” a stallion said.
两个人不高兴地看着小母马。"你有帽子吗？这台机器可不便宜,"一匹种马说。
My jaw nearly hit the mud. Why no, actually, now that he mentioned it. “This is Charm, Grace’s sister. I’m sure she’ll cover the cost.”
我的下巴差点碰到泥巴。为什么不呢，事实上，既然他提到了。"这是Charm，Grace的妹妹。我相信她会负担费用的。"
“Right. I gotta remember that line,” the other said with a smirk. “I’m not going to pay for it, but I’m Big Daddy’s second bastard twice removed. I’m sure he’ll cover it.”
"对。"我必须记住这句话,"另一个人傻笑着说。"我不会付钱的，但我是老爹的第二个私生子。我相信他会付的。"
“Get lost,” laughed the first. “Take your kid to Meatlocker.”
"滚开,"第一个笑着说。"带你的孩子去Meatlocker"
I couldn’t believe this. How many black-and-red-maned white unicorns were there? I was on the verge of putting a magic bullet into both of their asses when a green unicorn stallion trotted up and saved me from doing something probably pretty stupid. Sagittarius didn’t seem too happy either, though, what with the rain and all soaking his golden mane and goatee.
我简直不敢相信。有多少只黑红相间的白色独角兽？我正准备给他们两个的屁股上来颗神奇的子弹，这时一匹绿色的独角兽种马跑了过来，把我从可能相当愚蠢的事情中解救出来。不过射手座看起来也不太高兴，因为下雨了，他的金色鬃毛和山羊胡子都湿透了。
“What’s going on here?” he asked, his yellow eyes sweeping over me.
"这是怎么回事?"他问道，黄色的眼睛扫过我。
“This is Security. She’s broke, but wants us to run the machine on account she’s carrying a member of the Society,” one stallion said so obnoxiously it set my teeth on edge.
"这是安全问题。她破产了，但是想让我们操作这台机器，因为她带着一个社团成员,"一匹公马如此讨厌地说，这让我感到不安。
Sagittarius stared skeptically at me. “I’m afraid that, even if you were Security, the fact is that even she has to pay for services here.”
射手座疑惑地盯着我。"我担心，即使你是保安，事实上她也得为这里的服务付钱。"
I nearly choked. Seriously? My mind raced and latched on something to barter. “I’m wearing authentic armor from the period of Nightmare Moon. Even if you can’t use it, the fact is that someone will be willing to buy it.”
我差点窒息。真的吗？我的思绪飞快地抓住某件东西进行交换。"我穿着真正的恶梦之月时期的盔甲。即使你不能使用它，事实上也会有人愿意购买。"
His eyes swept over my barding and he twisted his lips. “Mmmm. Maybe. I’d feel better if Triage were here to make that call. She’ll have my tail off we run up the machine for anything less than a thousand caps.”
他的眼睛扫过我的帐篷，他扭动着嘴唇。"嗯。也许吧。如果分诊医生能在这里打电话，我会感觉好些。她会把我的尾巴拧掉的，我们只要不超过一千顶帽子，就可以开动这台机器。"
“Triage isn’t here?” My ears folded back. “She’s always here!”
"伤检分类不在这里?"我的耳朵向后竖着。"她一直在这儿!"
“Yeah. She was called to a big meeting at the Society. By Security. Imagine that.” The guard sneered at me, and I felt my confidence waver. If nopony believed who I was... if Glory and P-21 didn’t believe…
"是的。她被召集到协会参加一个大型会议。通过安全。想象一下。"卫兵嘲笑了我一下，我感到自信心动摇了。如果没人相信我是谁...如果晨辉和P-21不相信..。
No. Don’t think about that now. “Look. I’m Security, and she needs your help. There has to be something we can work out,” I said, trying my best to keep my fear in check and stay reasonable.
没有。现在不要想这些。"你看。我是保安她需要你的帮助。一定有什么事情是我们可以解决的,"我说，尽我最大的努力控制我的恐惧，保持理智。
Sagittarius regarded me for several desperate seconds, and then the green stallion gave a small shrug. “Well, I don’t think you’re going to cause trouble if you’re giving up your barding.”
射手座绝望地看了我几秒钟，绿色的种马耸了耸肩。"好吧，我认为如果你放弃你的军衔，你不会惹麻烦的。"
“I’ll throw in the sword, too. Matching set,” I said with a winning smile.
"我也要把剑扔进去。配套的,"我面带胜利的微笑说。
He finally nodded. “Deal. This way.” He led me into the quad, and I saw the damage that Cognitum had wrought. Two of the academic buildings were gone, the first blasted to its foundations and the second a scorched wreck. Fortunately, neither of them were the medical school or the observatory. “Sorry if we’re less than hospitable. We were hit by an attack recently. Incinerated a lot of good ponies.”
他终于点点头。"成交。这边走。"他把我领进院子里，我看见了科格尼顿给我造成的伤害。其中两座学术建筑消失了，第一座摧毁了它的地基，第二座则成了烧焦的废墟。幸运的是，他们既不是医学院也不是天文台。"如果我们不好客的话，我很抱歉。我们最近遭到了一次袭击。烧死了很多好马。"
“Are Capricorn and Pisces okay?” I asked with a worried frown, getting a curious look from him in return.
"摩羯和双鱼还好吗?"我愁眉苦脸地问，他也好奇地看了我一眼。
“Yes. They were on a job,” he said as he walked up the steps. There was a large chalkboard next to them; ‘Modifications’ and ‘Augmentations’ were written at the top with columns of names and prices beneath. Brain augmentation for only two thousand caps? Heart modification for fifteen hundred? “Cancer was vaporized,” Sagittarius continued. “Libra had a wall fall on her.” He shook his head. “You know, there was a time I thought we might have made Security a Zodiac, but Big Daddy declared her a Reaper first. Pity.”
"是的。他们在工作,"他边说边走上台阶。它们旁边有一块大黑板，上面写着"修改"和"补充"，下面是名称和价格。仅仅为了两千个帽子就放大了大脑？1500的心灵修正？"癌症被汽化了,"射手座继续说。"天秤座有一面墙倒在她身上。"他摇了摇头。"你知道，有一段时间我以为我们可能已经把安全变成了十二宫杀手，但是老爸先宣布她是收割者。真可惜。"
“I am Security,” I said flatly as we stepped inside and I doffed the cloak, passed him Charm, and removed the armor. “Are you seriously telling me you don’t recognize me, Sagittarius?”
"我是保安,"当我们走进去的时候，我直截了当地说。我脱下斗篷，递给他一个护身符，然后卸下盔甲。"你真的认不出我了吗，射手座?"
He rolled his eyes with a long-suffering sigh as he took my belongings and the filly. “Yes. You are a very good Security. You got the mane and coat down perfectly. Bravo.” He pointed off to the side. “You can wait down there in room 104, if you like. We’ll put her in and see what the machine can do.”
当他拿走我的东西和那匹小母马时，他忍受着长长的叹息，翻了翻眼睛。"是的。你是个很好的保安。你的鬃毛和外套都很漂亮。好极了。"他指向一边。"如果你愿意，你可以在104号房等着。我们把她放进去，看看机器能做些什么。"
I nodded, feeling quite shaken. How could he not see who I was? I turned and walked slowly down the hall to the room he’d indicated; it’d been made into a combination lounge, rec room, and café. My stomach growled as I was hit by the
我点点头，感到浑身颤抖。他怎么会不知道我是谁呢？我转过身，慢慢地沿着大厅走到他指定的房间，那里已经变成了一个综合休息室、娱乐室和咖啡厅。我的肚子咕噜咕噜地叫着
smell of fried hay, but I didn’t have a single cap–
闻起来有油炸干草的味道，但我没有一顶帽子
My thoughts stopped as I saw her. Dusky gray hide and wings… bright purple mane… Dashite cutie mark. I walked towards her as if in a dream. The universe had finally, finally thrown me a bone. Of course Morning Glory would be back here. She was a super smart medical pony. Why shouldn’t she be here? I didn’t pay any attention to anything but her as I raced over. She turned her head in surprise as I threw my hooves around her and kissed her so hard I thought my horn would burst. It was…
当我看到她时，我的思绪停止了。暗灰色的皮毛和翅膀...亮紫色的鬃毛...达什特可爱的标志。我像在梦中一样向她走去。宇宙终于，终于扔给我一块骨头。当然，牵牛花会回到这里。她是一匹超级聪明的医用小马。为什么她不应该在这里？当我跑过去的时候，除了她，我什么也没有注意。她惊讶地转过头来，我用蹄子把她搂在怀里，用力地吻她，我觉得我的喇叭都要爆了。那是..。
Wait. That’s not a mare’s tongue.
等等。那不是母马的舌头。
I broke away and goggled at the gray effeminate stallion I had my hooves around. “Oh, don’t stop there!” he begged with a lazy grin. “I live for moments like this.”
我挣脱开，瞪大眼睛看着我的马蹄周围那匹灰色的女人气的种马。"哦，别停在那儿!"他懒洋洋地笑着乞求。"我活着就是为了这样的时刻。"
“Habazahaaaaa…” I shrank away, feeling the last fuses in my brain going. Had breaking the talisman sent me to some bizzaro Wasteland? “You’re not Morning Glory…”
"哈巴扎哈......"我退缩了，感觉我脑子里的最后一个导火索在燃烧。难道打破护身符把我送到了什么荒原？"你不是牵牛花......"
Then I looked at the mare he’d been talking too. A unicorn. White. Black-and-red-striped mane. Card cutie mark, though she had a different suit, hearts, and was about ten years older and twenty pounds heavier than me… and with a much more… substantial horn. She wore blue combat armor with ‘Security’ written on it. “He does make an awesome Glory, though. Can’t blame you,” the armored Security said.
然后我看着那匹他也在说话的母马。独角兽。白色。黑红条纹鬃毛。卡片上的可爱标记，尽管她有一套不同的西装，红心，比我大十岁，比我重二十磅......还有一个更加......结实的角。她穿着蓝色的战斗盔甲，上面写着"安全"字样。"不过，他确实创造了一个令人敬畏的晨辉。不能怪你,"装甲保安说。
Two ponies impersonating me? And a stallion impersonating Glory?! I felt such rage I wanted to jump into S.A.T.S. and blow them both away… but I didn’t have a PipBuck anymore. “What… why… how could you…”
两匹小马在扮演我？还有一匹种马在扮演晨辉?！我感到非常愤怒，我想跳进s.a.t.s，把他们都打跑......但我再也没有一个PipBuck了。"什么......为什么......你怎么能......"
The male Morning Glory patted my shoulder with a wing. “Now hun. You look fine. I mean you got all the basics done right. You just need to get some barding. Leather maybe. Some leg braces. A shotgun. Oh! An eyepatch, too. Then you’d be a fine Security.”
雄性牵牛花用翅膀拍拍我的肩膀。"现在，亲爱的。你看起来不错。我的意思是你把所有的基础都做对了。你只是需要一些坦白。也许是皮革。一些腿部支架。猎枪。哦！还有一个眼罩。那你就是个好保安了。"
“I wanted to be Velvet and him Calamity…” the armored Blackjack said with a pout.
"我想成为天鹅绒，而他是灾难......"装甲黑杰克撅着嘴说。
“Not on your life! That twang, ugh!” He stretched out his wings, and I saw the
"你这辈子休想！那个鼻音，啊!"他张开翅膀，我看到了
undersides of them had patches of light blue. “Besides, gray and purple are much nicer, don’t you think?”
它们的下面有淡蓝色的斑点。"而且，灰色和紫色更好看，你不觉得吗?"
“I always thought so,” I whispered. I stared around the lobby and saw another Security watching me. Her legs were covered in some kind of faux cybernetics, armor leggings made to look like they were the real thing. “You’re…actors?”
"我一直这么认为,"我低声说。我环顾大厅，看到另一个保安在看着我。她的腿上覆盖着某种人造控制论的东西，穿着盔甲的打底裤，看起来像真的一样。"你们是...演员?"
“Heroes,” male Glory said with a pat of his wing. “Isn’t that why you dressed up like Security?”
"英雄,"男性晨辉拍着翅膀说。"这不就是你穿得像保安的原因吗?"
“I am Blackjack,” I said in a daze.
"我是黑杰克,"我茫然地说。
“Oh! You did your homework! That is her real name. Bravo!” He clapped his hooves, then sighed, rolling his eyes. “Seriously though, Darling, your peepers are all wrong for it. I mean, Security’s eyes are supposed to glow. They’ve always glowed. But some mares won’t get their eyes done,” he said with a sharp look at the armored Security next to him.
"哦！你做足了功课！那是她的真名。太棒了!"他拍了拍马蹄，然后叹了口气，翻了翻眼睛。"说真的，亲爱的，你的眼睛完全不适合这个。保安的眼睛应该会发光。它们总是闪闪发光。但是有些母马不会做眼睛。"他锐利地看着身边的装甲保安说。
“Hey! Don’t look at me,” she said sharply. “Velvet Remedy’s eyes don’t, and she’s who I wanted to do. I’d go with the Lightbringer, but no one’s one hundred percent sure what she looks like. Gray and brown. Green and brown? Who can say?”
"嘿！别看我,"她厉声说。"天鹅绒药方的眼睛没有，而她正是我想要的。我会选"光明使者"，但没有人能百分之百确定她长什么样。灰色和棕色。绿色和棕色？谁知道呢?"
I could, but would anypony believe me? “You’re too big anyway. She’s tiny,” I murmured.
我可以，但是会有人相信我吗？"不管怎么说，你太大了。她太小了,"我低声说。
“Well, so’s Security’s horn, but there’s no way I’m getting a reduction, either,” she said. “Inspiring the Wasteland to do better is one thing. Taking a belt sander to my horn is another.”
"嗯，安全部门的号角也是，但我也不可能得到减价,"她说。"鼓励荒原做得更好是一回事。用砂带磨光机磨角是另一回事。"
I swayed and sat down hard. “It’s compact…” I murmured.
我摇摇晃晃地坐了下来。"它很小巧......"我低声说。
The pegasus patted me again. “Anyway, if you’re going to make a serious run for playing Security, and who can blame you, use a cutie mark decal.” He nodded to armored Blackjack, and she rolled her eyes and levitated over a small box. Inside was a decal of Velvet Remedy’s nightingale cutie mark and a small can like a Dash inhaler. “Just get one of Blackjack’s cutie mark, spray it on your flank, and voila! Get some old stable barding and you could be Security, fresh from the stable!” he said in a breathless voice.
飞马又拍了拍我。"不管怎样，如果你想玩安全游戏，谁又能怪你呢，用一个可爱的标志贴纸吧。"他向装甲黑杰克点头，她转了转眼珠，漂浮在一个小盒子上。里面贴着VelvetRemedy的夜莺小可爱标志，还有一个像Dash吸入器的小罐子。"只要拿一个Blackjack的可爱标记，喷在你的身体侧面，瞧！找个旧马厩，你就可以成为刚从马厩出来的保安了!"他气喘吁吁地说。
“Just ignore him. He takes this thing way too seriously,” the armored Security said with a small smile, earning a very Glory-like glower from the pegasus. “He was a soldier, defected at Tenpony, we became friends, and since then we’ve been trying to live up to the examples of the heroes. Saw some other ponies dressing up as the Lightbringer’s friends and thought we could do it too. Half the time, it works. Half the time we get shot at, but they’d shoot at us anyway. Raiders, ugh…”
"别理他。他对待这件事太认真了,"装甲保安微笑着说，赢得了飞马非常晨辉般的怒视。"他是一名士兵，在Tenpony叛逃，我们成了朋友，从那时起，我们一直努力树立英雄的榜样。看到其他一些小马打扮成光明使者的朋友，我们也能做到。有一半的时间，它是有效的。有一半的时间我们会被射杀，但他们还是会射杀我们。夺宝奇兵，呃......"
“Security, Morning Glory, and P-21 are all very popular out east, anyway. And this way I get to look fabulous!” he crooned. “And just the other day we saw a Lacunae that was just perfect.”
"无论如何，保安、牵牛花和P-21在东部都很受欢迎。这样我就能看起来美极了!"他低声吟唱。"就在前几天，我们看到了一个完美的漏洞。"
“That was a real alicorn, you idiot,” Armored Security said flatly.
装甲保安公司直截了当地说:"那是真正的橡子，你这个白痴。"。
“And she was perfect,” he retorted with a little pout.
"她很完美,"他撅着嘴反驳道。
“Honestly, Aero...” she said as she covered her face with a hoof. I staggered away, leaving the two to argue about if ‘being an alicorn’ counted as a costume or not. I got out into the hall, my mind racing. Multiple Blackjacks running around the Hoof. I’d assumed Cognitum, in my old body, would be the only one I’d have to deal with. But if there were two impersonators here, how many were at Megamart? Or the Society? Or Chapel?
"老实说，飞机......"她边说边用蹄子挡住了脸。我摇摇晃晃地走开了，留下两个人在争论"是不是阿里克纳角斗士"算不算服装。我走进大厅，脑子里一片空白。多个Blackjacks围着Hoof跑。我以为在我原来的身体里，认知力是我唯一需要对付的东西。但是如果这里有两个冒名顶替者，有多少人在超级市场？或者社会？或者小礼拜堂？
Suddenly, I struggled not to teleport away then and there. I had something I needed to do here. And since Sagittarius obviously thought I was another fake, I couldn’t ask for his help. If Triage had been here, I might have been able to prove to her that I was me, but she wasn’t. I’d have to do this alone.
突然，我挣扎着不让自己瞬间移动。我在这儿有点事要做。很明显，射手座认为我是另一个骗子，所以我不能向他寻求帮助。如果伤检分类法在这里，我也许可以向她证明我就是我，但她不是。我得一个人去。
I walked back out into the rain and looked across at the observatory dome. There were guards stationed out in front. I wouldn’t even try and talk my way past them. I simply got close, slipped out of sight around a corner, and teleported into the observatory foyer. The guards didn’t even glance behind them at the noise as I trotted to the side and searched for the entrance to the projection room.
我走回雨中，望着对面的天文台圆顶。前面有警卫站岗。我甚至不会试图说服他们。我只是靠近了一点，在一个拐角处消失了，然后把自己传送到了天文台的大厅。当我小跑到旁边寻找放映室的入口时，警卫甚至没有看他们身后的噪音。
Inside, there was the collection of parts on concentric shelves I’d seen before, with one addition. A robot floated around, similar to the Mr. Gutsy models but with a large clear dome holding a brain in fluid. Two flat panels showed eyes, and a half dozen legs dangled around a levitation talisman. Off to the side, at a table between the observatory wall and the outermost ring of shelves, worked a young pink unicorn mare, Virgo I thought her name was, the one who had
里面是我以前见过的同心架子上的零件集合，还有一个附件。一个机器人四处漂浮，类似于古茨先生的模型，但是有一个大的透明的圆顶，里面有一个流动的大脑。两块平板上露出眼睛，六条腿悬挂在一个悬浮的护身符周围。在旁边，在天文台墙和最外层架子之间的一张桌子旁，一匹粉红色的独角兽母马正在工作，我记得她的名字叫处女座
ambushed me a lifetime ago outside Miramare.
在米拉马雷外围伏击了我一辈子。
Now or never. I didn’t have a gun or even that fancy armor. All I had was my magic and whatever I could improvise. A smarter pony would have gone after Triage. Maybe tried to convince Sagittarius. Come back later… except… Except after talking to those two, I needed this. I had to show that I was the real Security, not those fakes. Not Cognitum.
机不可失，时不再来。我没有枪，甚至没有华丽的盔甲。我所拥有的就是我的魔法和任何我可以即兴创作的东西。一匹更聪明的小马会选择伤检分类法。也许是想说服射手座。晚点再来......除了......除了和那两个人谈过之后，我需要这个。我必须证明我才是真正的保安，而不是那些冒牌货。不知觉。
I looked over the racks and found what I needed. Good thing about a workshop was all the useful things lying around. I crept along, much quieter without medical braces, heavy barding, or steel limbs, moving around to where Virgo was working with a half dozen partially-disassembled PipBucks. They weren’t as sleek as the black Shadowbolt one, but still, PipBucks! Ooooh, and a broadcaster!
我翻遍了货架，找到了我需要的东西。工作坊的好处就是周围都是有用的东西。我蹑手蹑脚地走着，没有医疗器械，没有沉重的护具，也没有钢制的四肢，更加安静了许多。我走到处女座工作的地方，那里有半打被部分拆解的PipBucks。它们没有黑色的暗影闪电那么光滑，但是，PipBucks！哦，还有一个播音员！
No no no! I’d never get to Glory at this rate. First things first. I reached around and grabbed Virgo while shoving a wad of dirty rags into her mouth, then tied the gag in place with duct tape as she squirmed. “Don’t make me hurt you,” I whispered in her ear, ashamed of the cowardly threat, but I needed her. Fortunately, she stilled. A blindfold would hinder her magic, I hoped. One tube of Wonderglue later, and all four of her hooves were secured to the floor. Professor Zodiac was working on the far side of the room. I whispered softly, “I’m Security. The real one you tried to trap with a box of badly-named ‘deadly’ neurotoxin that would put me to sleep. I need you to listen. Just sit tight.”
不，不，不！照这样下去，我永远也到不了晨辉。要事第一。我伸手抓住处女座，把一团脏布塞进她的嘴里，然后用胶带绑住她的嘴。"不要逼我伤害你,"我在她耳边低声说，为这种怯懦的威胁感到羞愧，但我需要她。幸运的是，她安静了下来。我希望眼罩会阻碍她施展魔法。吃了一管Wonderglue后，她的四只蹄子都被固定在地板上。十二宫杀手教授在房间的另一边工作。我轻声说,"我是保安。你试图用一盒名字很差的"致命"神经毒素困住的那个，那会让我睡着。我要你听我说。坐好了。"
She didn’t squeal or squirm, just stilled and then gave a little bob, which I was pretty sure was a nod.
她没有尖叫，也没有局促不安，只是静止了一下，然后微微摇了摇头，我很确定那是点头。
Then I look a deep breath, walked slowly out of the rings of racks, and said loudly, “You were the spy. And you’re still a spy.”
然后我深深地吸了一口气，慢慢地走出货架环，大声地说:"你就是那个间谍。而你仍然是个间谍。"
Professor Zodiac slowly turned, her two eye panels focusing on me and widening in shock. “Blackjack? I… how did you get here?”
十二宫教授慢慢地转过身来，她的两只眼睛聚焦在我身上，震惊地睁大了。"黑杰克？我。.你是怎么到这儿来的?"
There. The last bit of confirmation I needed. “You were a spy during the war. The zebras’ inside mare in the Projects,” I said as I trotted towards her. “You were the one that Goldenblood put Fluttershy in contact with.”
好了。我需要的最后一点确认。"你在战争期间是个间谍。"项目里的斑马在母马肚子里,"我一边说一边向她小跑过去。"你就是金血王让小红毛接触的那个人。"
The synthetic voice became more amused. “Fluttershy so wanted to give the zebras megaspells, poor dear. Goldenblood wanted them so they could be
合成的声音变得更有趣了。"可怜的小家伙，小家伙真想给斑马喂奶。金血王想要他们，所以他们可以
weaponized early. How could you possibly think I’m a spy?”
很早就武器化了。你怎么可能认为我是间谍呢?"
“My old eyes,” I said, pointing at my sockets with a hoof. “Or more precisely, your eyes. I don’t know when you had them replaced, but I’m guessing it was early on in the war. You had a transmitter set up so whatever you saw, they saw. I’m guessing you worked with Trueblood?”
"我的老眼睛,"我说，用蹄子指着我的眼窝。"或者更确切地说，是你的眼睛。我不知道你什么时候换的，但我猜那是在战争初期。你设置了一个发射器，所以不管你看到什么，他们都能看到。我猜你和特鲁布拉德一起工作过?"
“He was positively giddy to apply megaspells to his chimera research. The eye transmitted to a receiver wired into my optic center, bypassing the need for threading a wire along a scarred-up nerve canal. It also transmitted to several select terminals,” she said as she narrowed her eyes at me. “I didn’t need to copy. I simply needed to look.”
"他把megaspells应用到他的奇美拉研究中，简直是头晕目眩。眼睛传输到接收器，连接到我的视觉中心，绕过了需要穿线沿着伤痕累累的神经管。它还发送到几个选定的终端,"她眯起眼睛看着我说。"我不需要抄袭。我只是需要看一看。"
“And you were the spy Zecora was supposed to flush out,” I said as I kept my eyes on her. For all I knew, she’d had a radio in the robot and had sent for help. I needed to keep her talking.
"你就是那个泽科拉应该冲洗出来的间谍,"我一边说一边盯着她。据我所知，她在机器人身上装了无线电，并且已经派人去寻求帮助。我得让她继续说下去。
“Zecora?” She blinked, and then her eyes widened. “Oh my. I’d nearly forgotten. Yes. Zecora was working with me to get the power armor designs! Cybernetics were so invasive back then. Many zebra attempts turned out like Deus. It seems so many ponies have problems with augmentation…” She shook her chassis. “So Zecora was a double agent? I’m shocked. I was certain she’d come to her senses, too.”
"泽科拉?"她眨了眨眼睛，然后睁大了眼睛。"哦，我的天。我差点忘了。是的。泽科拉和我一起设计动力装甲！控制论在当时是如此具有侵略性。许多斑马的尝试结果都像上帝一样。好像很多小马都有增大的问题......"她摇了摇自己的底盘。"这么说，泽科拉是个双面间谍？我很震惊。我相信她也会恢复理智的。"
“Why?” I asked with a frown. “You were half pony, too.”
"为什么?"我皱着眉头问。"你也是半匹小马。"
“Because zebras are not half the hypocrites that ponies are, that’s why!” she snapped back. “Ponies are good, wonderful, nice people, right? But give them one excuse and they will turn on an outsider. Marginalize us. Segregate us. Violate us. I was a university professor, and I was defiled by ponies. What horrors can you imagine were foisted on zebras who had called Equestria our home for generations? Turning on the ministries was easy.”
"因为斑马连小马一半的伪君子都不如，这就是原因!"她反击了一下。"小马是好人，好人，好人，对吧？但如果给他们一个借口，他们就会把矛头指向一个外人。边缘化我们。隔离我们。侵犯我们。我是一个大学教授，我被小马玷污了。你能想象什么恐怖的事情被强加在那些世世代代称Equestria为我们家园的斑马身上？打击政府部门很容易。"
That was the easy part. “Except you never stopped being a spy, did you? Even two hundred years later, you’re working for others. Cognitum and the Legate.”
这是最简单的部分。""除非你从来没有停止做一个间谍，是吗？即使200年后，你还在为别人工作。同源词和使节词。"
Professor Zodiac said nothing for several seconds. “My my my. You actually worked it out. I didn’t think you would.”
十二宫教授沉默了几秒钟。"我，我，我。你真的做到了。我没想到你会这么做。"
“I’m not a smart pony, but I get there eventually,” I said as I looked at her. “You
"我不是一匹聪明的小马，但我最终会到达那里的,"我看着她说。"你
knew about EC-1101, and about Steelpony. Is that why you were so willing to give up your eyes to me?”
知道EC-1101和Steelpony。这就是你愿意为我放弃你的眼睛的原因吗?"
“Indeed. I knew you were special. You evaded and destroyed Deus, and you were unthreading Goldenblood’s little rat’s nest of secrets. Cognitum immediately started to put out feelers for getting an improved body, and she knew I was involved. I put her in touch with the Legate, and voila. Match made in heaven,” she said gleefully.
"的确。我知道你很特别。你逃避并摧毁了上帝，你拆除了金血王的秘密小老鼠窝。科格尼顿立刻开始试探，想让自己的身体得到改善，她知道我也参与其中。我帮她联系了特使，瞧。天作之合,"她兴高采烈地说。
“Why? What do you get out of it? You’re a brain in a jar,” I scoffed.
"为什么？你能从中得到什么？你是一个装在罐子里的大脑,"我嘲笑道。
“Oh, still not there yet?” Professor Zodiac said in mocking sympathy. “Well, first of all, I get the Core, regardless of who actually wins. I’ll be able to see the ultimate cyberization technology realized. I will be able to restore an honest and humble Equestria. One that will never see a mare violated by the horrible actions of an ignorant populace.” The eyes turned sly. “There’re others benefits too, if you think harder about it.”
"哦，还没到那儿吗?"黄道带教授带着嘲弄的同情说。"好吧，首先，我得到了核心，不管谁实际上赢了。我将能够看到终极网络化技术的实现。我将能够重建一个诚实、谦逊的马术国。一个永远不会看到无知民众的可怕行为侵犯一匹母马的国家。"那双眼睛变得狡猾。"如果你仔细想想，还有其它好处。"
“Right. Hurrah for you,” I said evenly. I saw no reasons to tell her about the Eater and the star spirit Cognitum was going to deliver to it. “I want to see what my old body is up to right now.”
"对。"为你欢呼吧,"我平静地说。我看不出有什么理由要告诉她关于食者和星体灵魂科涅土要送到它那里的事。"我想看看我的老身体现在在干什么。"
“You... aren’t here to stop me?” she asked in a baffled note.
"你...不是来阻止我的吗?"她莫名其妙地问。
“You want to serve the Legate, more power to you. I want my body back,” I replied flatly.
"你想为大使服务，给你更多的权力。我想要回我的身体,"我平淡地回答。
“Oh?” Zodiac floated closer, her arms coming up and clacking in the air. “It would be much simpler just to augment the body you have.”
"哦?"十二宫走近了，她的手臂举起来，在空中噼啪作响。"仅仅增强你的身体就会简单得多。"
Oh no, we weren’t going to be playing that. I smacked her pincers aside. “I want my old body back. I want my baby back. And I want to make that bitch pay for what she did to me and my friends.” I stared at her screens. “Certainly you can understand that?”
哦，不，我们不会玩那个的。我把她的钳子打到一边。"我想要回我原来的身体。我想要回我的孩子。我要让那个婊子为她对我和我的朋友所做的付出代价。"我盯着她的屏幕。"你当然能理解这一点?"
She didn’t answer for several seconds. “I suppose,” she said evenly.
她有几秒钟没有回答。"我想是吧,"她平静地说。
One of her eye screens crackled, and I saw the view of the ‘throne room’ of the
她的一个眼睛屏幕噼啪作响，我看到了皇家宫殿的王座室
Society. I’d stood there myself, what felt like half a life ago. In my eye, I could see a multitude of ponies I knew: Big Daddy, Triage, Bottlecap, Charity, and the
社会。我自己就站在那里，感觉像是半个生命之前。在我的眼睛里，我可以看到许多我认识的小马:大爸爸，伤检分类，博特凯普，慈善机构，还有
ghoul mayor Windclop. In front of them were Grace and Splendid, both wearing carefully offended masks. In the periphery, I could see Glory far off to the left beside P-21 and Scotch Tape. I made out a few of Rampage’s spikes on the right side. Other ponies I could make out were Finders, Paladin Stronghoof, and several other well-dressed ponies in the back.
食尸鬼市长温德克洛普。在他们面前的是优雅和灿烂，两人都戴着小心翼翼的冒犯面具。在外围，我可以看到晨辉远在左边的P-21和透明胶带旁边。我在右边辨认出了几个狂暴的钉子。我能辨认出其他小马是Finders，PaladinStronghoof，和其他几个穿着讲究的小马在后面。
“...glad to remind you that only in unity can we stand against this threat. The zebras have begun their final assault. In every corner of the Hoof, they have begun a slow advance in to our territory. The Harbingers will require all your assistance in repelling and annihilating this dire threat to Equestria,” Cognitum said calmly, making the word ‘our’ sound remarkably like ‘my’. “As one, we have the strength of unity to end this threat and unite into a glorious future!”
"...很高兴提醒你们，只有团结一致，我们才能对抗这种威胁。斑马已经开始了最后的攻击。在霍夫的每一个角落，他们已经开始向我们的领土缓慢推进。"先驱者"将需要你们的全力协助，以击退和消灭这个对Equestria的可怕威胁。"。"作为一个整体，我们有团结的力量来结束这一威胁，团结起来共创美好的未来!"
There were no cheers to this. Just dozens of blank stares and low mutters. “You think we’re just going to march on your say-so?” Big Daddy asked, the old stallion glaring Cognitum. “No one tells the Reapers what to do, Blackjack. Not even another Reaper.”
没有人为此欢呼。只有几十个茫然的眼神和低沉的咕哝声。"你以为我们会听你的话吗?"大爸爸问道，那匹老种马瞪着眼睛。"没有人告诉收割者该怎么做，黑杰克。甚至连另一个死神都没有。"
Suddenly, two crimson beams lanced out and struck Big Daddy in the chest. The assembled ponies cried out, falling back as the old stallion roared and launched himself at Cognitum. Rampage dashed into his path, hooves spread wide. The armored mare had no chance of stopping him, but she did slow him down enough for a second set to blast into him. Smoking, he fell back and was shot a third time. “You will find I am far more than a mere Reaper,” Cognitum said coldly, then shot a fourth pair of beams. Astonishingly, he didn’t disintegrate, and Cognitum advanced on him.
突然，两道深红色的光束射了出来，击中了大爸爸的胸部。所有的小马都叫了起来，随着那匹老种马的吼叫，它们向科涅塔姆冲去。横冲直撞的人冲进他的小路，蹄子四散开来。装甲母马没有机会阻止他，但她的确减慢了他的速度，足以让第二组向他发射。吸烟时，他向后倒下，第三次中弹。"你会发现我远远不只是一个收割者,"认知觉冷冷地说，然后射出第四对光束。令人惊讶的是，他并没有解体，而是认知向他推进。
“Stop!” P-21 shouted, running over to stand over Big Daddy’s smoking body. He glared up at me. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Blackjack?” I saw the anger and confusion in my friend’s features. I could imagine Cognitum calculating whether it was advantageous to kill one of my friends as a show of power or not. Go for not, I prayed softly.
"住手!"P-21喊道，跑过去站在大老爹冒烟的身体旁边。他怒视着我。"你他妈的怎么了，黑杰克?"我从我朋友的脸上看到了愤怒和困惑。我可以想象，认知力在计算杀死我的一个朋友作为权力的展示是否有利。我轻声祈祷。
“The Remnant are attacking us, P-21. This is no time for the petty bickering and strife that defined the past. We must look to the future and our self-defense,” Cognitum replied.
例外人正在攻击我们，P-21。现在不是争吵和冲突的时候，过去就是这样的。我们必须着眼于未来，着眼于我们的自卫能力。"。
“Has anyone even tried talking to them?” Glory asked loudly, walking over the stand next to him. “The zebra refugees from the Remnant have no clue about
"有人试过跟他们说话吗?"晨辉走过他旁边的看台，大声问道。"从例外人那里逃来的斑马毫无头绪
these attacks. If anything, they’ve been attacked too. We haven’t heard from Lancer yet. Sekashi and he must have some idea why they’re attacking suddenly for no reason.”
这些袭击。如果有什么区别的话，那就是他们也受到了攻击。我们还没有兰瑟的消息。Sekashi和他肯定知道为什么他们会无缘无故突然发动攻击。"
“They’re attacking us because they hate us. It’s as simple as that,” Cognitum said coldly. “The Legate has made his interests abundantly clear. He wishes to annihilate us all!” If only she knew. “The Harbingers are keeping them at bay for the moment, but if they are to keep up the defense, we must be united under one leader.”
"他们攻击我们是因为他们恨我们。就是这么简单,"科涅图姆冷冷地说。"特使已经非常清楚地表明了自己的利益。他想消灭我们所有人!"要是她知道就好了。"先驱者目前正在牵制他们，但如果他们要继续防御，我们必须团结在一个领导人之下。"
“But why you, Blackjack? You’ve never wanted to lead anypony before. We could work as a war council. Each group can have a seat and we can work out the best way to resolve this,” Glory asked, reasonably. An equitable share of power. Great idea.
"但为什么是你呢，黑杰克？你以前从来没想过要领导任何小马。我们可以成为战争委员会。每个小组都可以坐下来，我们可以想出最好的办法解决这个问题。"。公平分配权力。好主意。
“That’s a terrible idea,” Cognitum scoffed. “You'd let us be paralyzed by indecision and bickering? Only united under one ruler can things be accomplished. I’m the only one that has demonstrated the requisite strength and determination. And under me, the Legate will be crushed. Under me, Hoofington will rise!”
"这是一个可怕的想法,"科涅图姆嘲笑道。"你会让我们因优柔寡断和争吵而瘫痪吗？只有统一在一个统治者之下，事情才能完成。我是唯一一个表现出必要的力量和决心的人。在我的领导下，特使将被击垮。在我脚下，胡芬顿会站起来!"
Glory glared long and hard into my face. “Blackjack, what’s happened to you? Since you got back... I don’t know what’s gotten into you.”
晨辉的光芒长久而坚硬地照在我的脸上。"黑杰克，你怎么了？自从你回来......我不知道你怎么了。"
“You’d be wise to drop this imper–” Cognitum began when Rampage cleared her throat loudly, drawing her eye. Rampage scowled at her and gave a tiny little shake of her head. Cognitum looked back at Glory, then said in a calmer voice, “Dear Glory, if we hadn’t had to struggle with the divisions of Thunderhead, the city might have been saved. Think of how many died needlessly because of strife and conflict. Think of how many might yet die if we continue to argue among ourselves. Think of the children,” she said with a wave of her hoof at Charity and Scotch Tape.
"你最好放下枪——"当狂暴大声清了清喉咙，吸引着她的眼睛时，认知觉开始了。狂暴怒怒视着她，微微摇了摇头。科格尼顿回头看着晨辉，然后用更平静的声音说:"亲爱的晨辉，如果我们不是和雷霆头的军队作战，这座城市也许就得救了。想想有多少人不必要地死于冲突和冲突。想想如果我们继续争论下去，会有多少人死去。想想孩子们,"她在CharityandScotchTape舞动着蹄子说。
“The children are adding a five percent sanctimony fee, so thank you for your thought,” Charity snapped back.
"孩子们要加收百分之五的伪善费，所以谢谢你的想法,"慈善反驳道。
“The fact is that we don’t have a choice,” Rampage said loudly. “The Remnant surround the city on all sides, and they’re attacking. Why doesn’t matter. What does matter is that they are, and we have to stop them. No different than two hundred years ago.”
"事实是我们别无选择,"狂暴大声地说。"残余人从四面八方包围了城市，他们正在进攻。为什么不重要。重要的是，它们确实存在，我们必须阻止它们。与两百年前没有什么不同。"
“And look how well that ended,” Glory retorted.
"看看结局有多好,"格洛里反驳道。
“Enough,” Cognitum said with dripping disgust. “I’ve learned the zebras have a superweapon on the moon. While you fight, I shall go and disable it. Once it is destroyed, the Core shall be reborn, and with it, all of Equestria! You’d all be wise to think on your future in it,” she said as she walked out, obviously going around instead of over the groaning Big Daddy only because Glory and P-21 were in her way.
"够了,"科涅图姆带着极度厌恶的口吻说。"我知道斑马在月球上有超级武器。当你战斗的时候，我会去摧毁它。一旦它被摧毁，核心将会重生，随之而来的还有整个小马国！你们都应该明智地考虑一下自己的未来,"她边走边说，显然，她并没有因为晨辉和P-21挡住了她的路，而是四处走动，而不是抱怨老爹。
The image crackled out, and I was staring into an enormous eye. “You can let me go now,” Professor Zodiac said flatly, and I realized that, about the time Cognitum’d begun threatening Glory, I’d grabbed the screen between my fetlocks, squeezing so hard my legs ached. I released the screen, backing away from the machine. The eyes looked coolly at me. “As you can see, it’s rather easy to learn all kinds of special things when you can see through important eyes and ears.”
画面噼啪作响，我凝视着一只巨大的眼睛。"你现在可以让我走了,"黄道带教授直截了当地说，我意识到，就在科涅塔姆开始威胁晨辉的时候，我抓住球棒之间的屏风，用力挤压，我的腿疼得厉害。我松开了屏幕，离开了机器。那双眼睛冷冷地看着我。"正如你所看到的，当你能通过重要的眼睛和耳朵看到事物时，学习各种特殊的东西是相当容易的。"
I stared at her for several seconds, weighing a decision I didn’t want to make. Being a spy two centuries ago was one thing. Working for the Legate now, even if she didn’t know about Amadi’s true motives, was another matter. “So now you make implants that let you spy through eyes and ears. But that’s not their only special feature, is it?” The professor fell silent, but I could almost hear her mind whirring. Or maybe that was some pump in her inequine chassis; who knew? “When I was in Thunderhead, Lighthooves used a command to murder all the cyberponies under his command. ‘Snapped Strings’, or something like that.”
我盯着她看了几秒钟，考虑着自己不想做的决定。两个世纪前做间谍是一回事。现在为特使工作，即使她不知道阿马迪的真实动机，是另一回事。"所以现在你做了植入物，可以通过眼睛和耳朵窥探。但这并不是它们唯一的特色，不是吗?"教授沉默了下来，但我几乎能听到她心里的呼呼声。或者也许那是她不一样的底盘里的某种打气筒;谁知道呢？"当我在Thunderhead的时候，lighthoves用一个命令杀死了他指挥下的所有赛博小马。'断弦'之类的。"
“I... I have no idea what you... why...” she stammered. For a spy, she was a bad liar; I supposed she was more into peeking than fibbing. “Lighthooves must have...”
"我.....。.我不知道你......为什么......"她结结巴巴地说。作为一个间谍，她不善于撒谎;我猜她更喜欢偷看而不是撒谎。"轻舟肯定有......"
“Lighthooves was a director. The Enclave didn’t have cyberization until I came along and gave it to them.” By accident, but still... “They were working entirely off Steelpony. Your designs.” I readied myself. “So, I’m curious... those augmentations you’re selling so cheaply… Would they happen to have a similar response to certain secret words?”
"莱特霍夫斯是一位导演。直到我出现并把它给了他们，昂科雷才有了网络化。"虽然是偶然，但还是......"他们完全在Steelpony工作。你的设计。"我准备好了。"所以，我很好奇......你们廉价出售的那些增强产品......它们会不会碰巧对某些秘密词汇有类似的反应?"
The mechanical limb snapped out, shockingly fast, grabbing me by the throat and lifting me off my hooves. “Oh, Blackjack. Why’d you have to get smart?” she asked as she brought the limb with the sawblade to my gut.
机械肢体突然断裂出来，速度惊人，抓住我的喉咙，把我从蹄子上提了起来。"哦，黑杰克。你为什么要变聪明呢?"她一边问，一边用锯片把树枝插进我的肚子。
By ‘why’ I had my focus, and by ‘smart’ I had a magic bullet aimed right at her dome. The impact cracked the seal where dome met metal, and an acrid fluid that vaguely reminded me of pickle juice began to spurt out. If I’d had S.A.T.S., I could have put four more in the same spot, but the second shot was off and ripped a hole in her metal plating.
通过"为什么"，我找到了焦点，通过"聪明"，我找到了一颗神奇的子弹，正对着她的圆顶。撞击击碎了密封的圆顶与金属接触的地方，一种辛辣的液体开始喷出，隐约让我想起泡菜汁。如果我得了s.a.t.s，我可以在同一个地方再打四枪，但是第二枪打掉了，在她的金属板上撕开了一个洞。
Then her saw cut into my side. It wasn’t a big blade, just a small surgical saw. Still, it had more than enough bite to split hide and then chew into a rib. I was just thankful the angle of the cut made slicing my throat impractical. Needless to say, the focus I needed to teleport away was lost almost instantly; I wasn’t done yet, though. I raised my hooves and smashed them against the cracked seal, and the purple trickle became a deluge. The robot began to jerk erratically as the brain sank to the bottom of the case. One more hit and the dome came loose and flew off, the brain flopping out on the ground. The robot screamed and then fell prone, the blade in my side stilling.
然后她的锯子划破了我的身体。那不是一把大刀片，只是一把小手术锯。尽管如此，它还是有足够的咬力撕开兽皮，然后咬断一根肋骨。我只是感谢切口的角度使得割喉不切实际。不用说，我需要瞬移离开的焦点几乎立刻就消失了;尽管我还没有完成。我抬起我的蹄子，在裂开的封印上撞得粉碎，紫色的涓涓细流变成了洪水。当大脑沉到箱子底部时，机器人开始不稳定地抽搐。再一次撞击，穹顶松动了，飞走了，脑袋扑通一声掉在地上。机器人尖叫着，然后俯身倒下，我身边的刀片静了下来。
“Oh that hurts. That really hurts,” I muttered as I withdrew my neck from the twitching metal claw, then pulled free of the saw. “Oh, fuck!” I screamed, the blazing agony gradually dropping to a fiery pain that throbbed in time to my racing pulse. “Healing magic. Make it a frigging priority to learn healing magic!” I muttered. The wound wasn’t exactly deep, but it was still hurting and bleeding pretty freely.
"哦，那很伤人。那真的很疼,"我一边低声说，一边把脖子从抽搐的金属爪子上抽出来，然后把锯子拔了出来。"哦，妈的!"我尖叫着，炽热的痛苦逐渐变成了灼热的疼痛，随着我飞快的脉搏跳动着。"治愈魔法。让学习治疗魔法成为他妈的优先事项!"我咕哝着。伤口不是很深，但仍然很疼，流血很多。
I walked away from the professor, towards the bound and hidden Virgo, but slowed. Something was off. I slowly scanned the room, lacking any E.F.S. to help me out. Nothing... yet I couldn’t help but think something was wrong. That’d been too damned eas–
我从教授身边走开，朝着被束缚和隐藏的处女座走去，但是慢了下来。有些不对劲。我慢慢地扫视着房间，没有任何e.f.s来帮助我。没什么...但我还是忍不住觉得有什么不对劲。那太他妈容易了
Something invisible slammed me off my hooves, and I staggered back into a rack of spare parts. I didn’t think, I simply threw a wave of every last little part I could in the direction I’d come and watched them bounce off a pony-sized shape. Then my brain registered that my cut ribs had become broken ribs and that blood loss was starting to make me lightheaded. “Of course. Cognitum transferred my mind. Why not yours?” I said as I kept throwing wads of loose screws, nails, and pieces of broken metal in the direction of the distortion.
有什么看不见的东西把我的蹄子撞掉了，我跌跌撞撞地回到了一个零件架上。我没有想到，我只是简单地向我来的方向挥挥手，看着它们从一个小马大小的物体上弹回来。然后我的大脑意识到我被切断的肋骨变成了断裂的肋骨，失血开始使我头昏眼花。"当然。认知力转移了我的注意力。为什么不是你的呢?"我一边说，一边不停地往变形的方向扔螺丝钉、钉子和碎金属片。
The invisibility dropped, and a cyberunicorn appeared. Silver Stripe had taken quite a page from my own augmentations. Black armor in place of hide. Red cybernetic eyes. If it weren’t for a striped motif of glossy and matte black, she’d
隐形消失了，一只网络独角兽出现了。银条纹已经从我自己的增强相当一页。用黑色盔甲代替皮革。红色的控制论的眼睛。如果不是有光泽和哑光黑色的条纹主题，她会
be indistinguishable from a pony. “I swear,” she said, “Cognitum should die a hundred deaths for not killing you immediately.”
和小马没什么区别。"我发誓,"她说,"如果不立即杀死你，科涅土就会死一百个人。"
I sent a magic bullet at her head, but it didn't do much beyond scoring the armor. Her magic bullet, on the other hoof, nearly blasted me off my hooves and informed me that, in addition to the hole in my side, I was now looking at a few more broken bones. Instinct recommended curling up and crying. Instead, I reached out and pulled myself through a gap in a shelf, pushing it back at her as she slowly advanced. “I have to admit, I really was looking forward to that ace in the hole. Cognitum is sure that the masses will buy her dog and pony show, but I know better. Two hundred plus years has taught me that.” She easily shoved the shelves over, showering me in metal parts and scrap as I continued my backwards scramble through the bottom gap of the next shelf. Her magic tossed it aside. “You kill anyone and everyone who might even think of disobeying you, and then... then... you kill a few more just to be safe. Only when you have absolute and utter control do you let them live.”
我向她的头部发射了一颗神奇的子弹，但除了击中她的盔甲之外没有什么用处。她那神奇的子弹，在另一边的蹄子上，差点把我的蹄子炸飞，告诉我，除了我身上的那个洞，我现在还要看几根骨折的骨头。本能建议蜷缩着哭泣。相反，我伸出手，穿过一个架子上的缝隙，在她缓缓前进的时候把它推回去。"我不得不承认，我真的很期待那张王牌。认知是肯定的，大众会买她的狗和小马的表演，但我知道更好。200多年教会了我这一点。"我继续向后爬过下一个架子的底部缝隙，她轻而易举地把架子推了过去，把我扔进了金属零件和废品堆里。她的魔法把它扔到一边。"你杀死任何一个甚至可能想要违抗你的人，然后......然后......为了安全起见，你又杀死了几个。只有当你拥有绝对和绝对的控制权时，你才会让他们活着。"
My back hit the rear wall of the planetarium. She casually knocked the last shelf aside, smirking down at me. “Time to fix her mistake.”
我的背撞到了天文馆的后墙。她不经意地把最后一个架子推到一边，朝我傻笑。"是时候弥补她的错误了。"
Then she exploded. Well, not all of her. Just everything from horn to shoulders. Her head evaporated in a directed blast that continued into and through the wall above my head. “Y’hal talsh ta much,” a stallion drawled in a muddled voice from the doorway. A heavily bandaged brown pegasus in a floppy black hat pointed the largest rifle in existence at where the cyber unicorn’s torso still stood. He limped closer, and I took in the heavy bandages covering the right side of his body and his left wing.
然后她爆发了。不是全部。只是从角到肩膀的一切。她的头在定向爆炸中蒸发了，爆炸持续进入并穿过我头顶的墙壁。"你说得太多了,"一匹种马从门口慢吞吞地慢吞吞地说，声音混乱。一匹缠满绷带的棕色飞马，戴着一顶松软的黑色帽子，把现存最大的步枪指向网络独角兽躯干仍然屹立的地方。他一瘸一拐地走近我，我给他身体右侧和左翼缠上了厚厚的绷带。
“Calamity! What did you just do?” a mare said from the door behind him as he slumped under the gun’s tremendous weight. The charcoal gray Velvet Remedy entered and stared at the devastation, then at the cyberpony body, then at me. To her credit, she immediately rushed to my side and applied her wonderful, soothing healing magic. Oh, it was like fresh strawberries. “I thought we talked about talking first, shooting later.”
"我的天哪！你刚才做了什么?"一匹母马在他身后的门口说，当他在枪的巨大重量下倒下时。炭灰色的天鹅绒药方走了进来，盯着满目疮痍，然后是赛博马的尸体，最后是我。值得赞扬的是，她立刻跑到我身边，施展她那奇妙的、抚慰人心的治愈魔法。就像新鲜的草莓。"我们不是说好先聊天，然后再拍吗?"
“Pretty shure tha’ thing... twern’t feelin’ mighty talky,” he said as he sat down, his words slightly slurred, but I was picking out what was accent and what was the bandages covering him. “Saw it’d killed the professor. This filly was next,” he said as he started to break down the gun with a deft wing and hoof. Even
他坐下来，说话有点含糊不清，但我正在分辨什么是口音，什么是缠在他身上的绷带。"看见它杀死了教授。下一个就是这匹小母马。"他一边说着，一边用灵巧的翅膀和蹄子把枪砸了下来。甚至
clearly in pain, his skill with the gun’s mechanics was something to see. I’d be hard pressed to do so half as fast with my horn.
很明显，在痛苦中，他的枪械技术值得一看。我很难用我的号角来达到一半的速度。
“Thanks, Velvet,” I said, certain that this had to be the real pair and not some fans. From the uncertain fold of her ears and the sigh that followed, I doubted they felt the same.
"谢谢，维尔维特,"我说，确信这一定是真正的一对，而不是一些粉丝。从她不确定的耳折和随之而来的叹息中，我怀疑他们也有同样的感觉。
“I know imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but you really should be yourself, young lady. I know that Blackjack would want it that way.” Her maternal tone so reminded me of Glory that my chest ached.
"我知道模仿是最真诚的奉承，但你真的应该做你自己，年轻的女士。我知道Blackjack也希望如此。"她充满母性的语调让我想起了晨辉，以至于我的胸部开始疼痛。
“I know it because I am Blackjack,” I said as I trotted over to Virgo and started to free her, grabbing flasks of turpentine and pouring them on her bound hooves. My magic undid her bindings, and I looked over at the skeptical pair. They shared a glance that said I wasn’t the first person they’d heard this from.
"我知道这一点，因为我是Blackjack,"我边说边跑向处女座，开始释放她，抓起瓶子里的松节油，倒在她被捆绑的蹄子上。我的魔法解开了她的束缚，我看着那两个怀疑的人。他们看了我一眼，说我不是他们第一个听到这个消息的人。
“Now miss, y’all don’t have to be like tha’. I admit it’s a touch annoyin’ at times, but I know Blackjack’d be right proud of what y’all are doin’,” Calamity said with a nod, then actually came over and patted my head with his unbandaged wing!
"现在小姐，你们不必像那样。"我承认有时候这有点讨厌，但是我知道Blackjack会为你们所做的一切感到骄傲的,"卡拉米特点点头说，然后走过来用解开绷带的翅膀拍拍我的头！
I might have given up if he hadn’t done that. Instead, I stared into his eyes and said levelly, “I went adventuring with LittlePip the night she talked Red Eye into giving her the balefire bomb. We came back flying on a wing of alicorns, with me wearing a crown of whiskey bottles.” The rest of the details were pretty fuzzy, but at least I could remember that.
如果他没那么做，我可能已经放弃了。相反，我凝视着他的眼睛，冷静地说:"那天晚上，我和小皮普一起去冒险，她说服红眼给了她一枚火焰炸弹。我们乘着一队橡树果飞回来，我头上戴着一顶威士忌酒瓶皇冠。"其余的细节都很模糊，但至少我还记得。
Calamity chuckled. “Y’all musta studied somethin’ fierce, that’s fer sure.”
卡拉米蒂笑了。"你们肯定学过什么厉害的东西，这是肯定的。"
But Velvet frowned at me. “Wait a minute. Calamity! That wasn’t in LittlePip’s book!”
但是维尔韦特皱着眉头看着我。"等一下。灾难！这不在小匹普的书里!"
“It weren’t?” he asked, blinking at me.
"不是吗?"他眨着眼睛问我。
“LittlePip removed that memory from herself and told us not to tell. The only people who saw were us, Homage, and...” Her eyes grew even more round and troubled.
"小皮普把那段记忆从她自己身上抹去，告诉我们不要说出去。只有我们、敬意和......"她的眼睛越来越圆，越来越困惑。
“Me and my friends,” I concluded for her with a small nod.
"我和我的朋友们,"我轻轻地点了点头，为她做了个总结。
Calamity gaped from her to me and back again, “But... she’s... normal! I mean no metal legs, no metal parts at all.” He pointed a hoof to the side. “And if that’s Blackjack, then who was that mare in metal makin’ all them grand statements o’ unity and all that junk?”
灾难从她那里传到我那里，然后又传回来,"但是......她是......正常的！我的意思是没有金属腿，根本没有金属零件。"他把蹄子指向一边。"如果那是Blackjack，那么那匹穿着金属制服的母马又是谁呢
“It’s a long and complicated story,” I said, then sat down and looked over at the dead cyberunicorn. “She’s... I mean… Long and... complicated... and...” I shook a little as I ran my hooves through my mane. “Sorry. I just... you really believe I’m Blackjack, don’t you?” Celestia, why was I starting to blubber like this? I had things to do!
"这是一个漫长而复杂的故事,"我说，然后坐下来，看着死去的网络独角兽。"她......我的意思是......又长又......复杂......还有......"当我用蹄子梳理鬃毛时，我有点颤抖。"对不起。我只是......你真的相信我是黑杰克，是吗?"塞莱斯蒂亚，为什么我开始哭成这样？我有事要做！
Velvet Remedy and Calamity suddenly glanced at each other in concern. “Well...
天鹅绒药方和灾难突然关切地对视了一下。"好吧.....。
I don’t rightly know,” Calamity said. “Things out east are mighty... ah... wut’d
"我不知道,"卡拉米特说。"东方的东西很强大......啊......是的
Homage say?”
敬意怎么说?"
“Surreal,” Velvet supplied as she trotted to my side.
"超现实主义,"维尔韦特一边小跑一边向我走来。
“Right. Though ‘barn bucked loco’ is what I’d call ‘em,” Calamity said as he looked back at me. “Shoot. Folks out east is twigged like nopony I ain’t never seen before. I mean, sure we were the only ponies there, but maybe somepony said somethin’. I dunno.”
"对。"虽然'谷仓突然失控'是我所说的'他们',"卡拉米特回头看着我说。"开枪吧。东部的人就像一匹我从没见过的小马驹。我的意思是，当然我们是那里唯一的小马，但也许某些小马说了什么'。我不知道。"
“Well... it’s just... I really need you all to believe I’m Blackjack. I am. And those others... they’re not me. Because...” Because what if I wasn’t the real me? What if I was just a copy? A thing. Maybe there were implants in my skull controlling me like a puppet! What if I wasn’t in control? Suddenly my heart rate spiked up and I couldn’t quite breathe in fast enough. Whisper and Tenebra had believed me, but they hadn’t had copies of me running around. What if I couldn’t convince Glory I was the real Blackjack?
"嗯......只是......我真的希望你们都相信我是黑杰克。是的。而其他人...他们不是我。因为..."因为如果我不是真正的我怎么办？如果我只是一个复制品呢？一件事。也许我的头骨里有植入物像木偶一样控制着我！如果我不能控制自己呢？突然间，我的心跳加速，呼吸不够快。Whisper和Tenebra相信了我，但他们没有我到处跑的副本。如果我不能说服晨辉我是真正的黑杰克怎么办？
Virgo wiped turpentine and wondergoop off her hooves. “Well... I don’t know if you are or not. I mean, I only met you that one time. But you didn’t kill me...” She looked towards the slain cyberpony’s bodies. “And the professor seemed to believe you were Blackjack too. It’s just there’re all these impersonators these days...”
处女座擦去了马蹄上的松节油和湿润物。"嗯......我不知道你是不是。我只见过你一次。但是你没有杀死我......"她看着被杀死的赛博小马的尸体。"教授似乎也认为你是黑杰克。只是现在到处都是模仿者......"
“Yeah. Wut’s the matter with you easterners anyhow! Why, I nearly bucked the noggin off one fool dressed like me, trottin’ around talkin’ in a funny accent,” Calamity said with a snort.
"是的。无论如何，你们这些东方人是有毛病的！"为什么，我差点从一个穿得像我的傻瓜身上摔下来，用有趣的口音到处走来走去,"卡拉米特哼了一声说。
“I think that’s my fault,” a mare said from the doorway. The dusky gray mare with the striped blue mane gave a slightly sheepish smile as she walked into the lab. A PipBuck and broadcaster glittered on her hoof. Homage gave a little smile. “When I said folks should emulate their heroes, I didn’t think they’d take me so literally. I mean, for years, decades, most of the Wasteland didn’t care about being like a hero. Then these ponies with costumes all start showing up, and... yeah. Kinda crazy.” There were more ponies coming in after her. The whispers began to spread, and somepony cried out that the professor had been killed.
"我想那是我的错,"一匹母马站在门口说。灰灰色的母马，带着蓝色的鬃毛，走进实验室的时候，脸上露出一丝羞怯的微笑。一只皮普巴克和一个播音员的蹄子闪闪发光。致敬带来了一丝微笑。"当我说人们应该效仿他们心目中的英雄时，我没想到他们会如此认真地对待我。我的意思是，这么多年，这么多年，大部分荒原人都不在乎自己是不是一个英雄。然后这些穿着戏服的小马就开始出现了。有点疯狂。"有更多的小马跟在她后面。传言开始蔓延，一匹小马大声叫喊着教授已经被杀死了。
“She says she’s the ‘real’ Blackjack,” Velvet said with a frown.
"她说她是'真正的'黑杰克,"维尔韦特皱着眉头说。
Homage frowned. “Then who’s the one- nevermind.” She took a deep breath, walking up to me as I rose to my hooves. “I have a simple test,” she said as she stared into my eyes. “What happened after the party?" I glowered at her a moment, then leaned in and told her. She grinned and said with a hint of a blush, “Okay. I’m satisfied. It’s her.”
敬意皱起了眉头。"那么谁是那个人，算了。"她深深地吸了一口气，朝我走来，而我则站了起来。"我有一个简单的测试,"她盯着我的眼睛说。"派对结束后发生了什么?"我怒视了她一会儿，然后凑过去告诉她。她咧嘴笑了笑，脸红了一下，说:"好吧。我很满意。是她。"
“But... what’s she doin’ here? And what’s goin’ on?” Calamity asked plaintively.
"但是......她在这儿干什么？这是怎么回事?"卡拉米德哀怨地问。
“It’s too much to explain.” I said as I looked in the direction of the Society. “I need to see Glory. Once I see her...” Then I’d either be okay or just fall apart completely. I got ready to teleport the hay out of there and leave Virgo to explain it when a green field of magic shot through the crowd and formed a bubble around me. I tried to flash out but just smacked right against the solid wall of the field. “Oh come on!” I cried. “I did the right thing! Let me go!”
"这太难解释了。"我边说边看着学会的方向。"我需要看到晨辉。一旦我看到她......"然后我要么没事，要么完全崩溃。我准备把干草传送出去，让处女座去解释，这时一片绿色的魔法场从人群中穿过，在我周围形成了一个泡泡。我试图闪现出来，但只是撞到了球场的坚实墙壁上。"哦，得了吧!"我哭了。"我做得对！放开我!"
Sagittarius walked in, the bubble connecting me to him by a thin green tendril. “I’m afraid you’re not going anywhere till we have some answers.” He glanced over at Calamity, Velvet, and Homage. “You three are welcome to join in.”
射手座走了进来，一根细细的绿色卷须把我和他联系在一起。"在我们找到答案之前，恐怕你哪儿也不能去。"他扫了一眼《灾难》、《天鹅绒》和《致敬》。"欢迎你们三个加入。"
I beat my head against the wall of the bubble.
我的头撞在泡沫的墙上。
* * *
* * *
Apparently, when the leader of a powerful group dies, there’re quite a few questions asked. We relocated to an old conference room in the medical school that appeared to be a command center for the Zodiacs. The table was a large oval with a hollow space in the middle. One wall was covered with bounty posters from all over Equestria. One of them was even mine... gosh, fifty thousand caps
显然，当一个强大组织的领导人去世时，人们会问很多问题。我们搬到了医学院的一个旧会议室，那里看起来像是十二宫指挥中心。桌子是一个大椭圆形，中间有一个凹陷的空间。一面墙上贴满了来自Equestria各地的赏金海报。其中一个甚至是我的...天哪，五万顶帽子
dead, a hundred thousand alive. Those were the days... ‘Not worth it’ was written in red ink across my face.
死了，十万个活着。那些日子...'不值得'用红墨水写在我的脸上。
The room was pretty packed. There were Sagittarius, Virgo, Aries, and Aquarius. Homage, Calamity, and Velvet Remedy, along with the crimson-and-scarlet-maned unicorn stallion Life Bloom, were all in attendance. A trio of alicorns, two greens and a purple, startled me. There wasn’t any animosity in their steady gazes, though, and at least one smiled at me.
房间里挤满了人。射手座、处女座、白羊座和水瓶座。敬意，灾难，天鹅绒疗法，还有猩红色披着红色鬃毛的独角兽生命之花都出席了。三个橡子，两个绿色和一个紫色，吓了我一跳。尽管他们目不转睛地盯着我，但是没有任何敌意，至少有一个人对我微笑。
“Wow. With this many horns in the room, we’re either going to produce a megaspell or a gaming group,” Life Bloom quipped, prompting a few meager chuckles. They died quickly.
"哇。有了这么多的喇叭，我们要么创造一个巨型的aspell，要么创造一个游戏组合。他们很快就死了。
Sagittarius set me down in the empty space in the center of the table, sat down across from me, folded his hooves on the tabletop, and said, “Tell us what happened.” I sighed, took a deep breath, and got to it.
射手座把我放在桌子中央的空地上，坐在我对面，把蹄子放在桌面上，说:"告诉我们发生了什么。"我叹了口气，深深地吸了一口气，然后就开始了。
It took about two hours for me to convince Sagittarius that I hadn’t murdered the professor. That the professor had betrayed them. That the implants likely contained kill commands like the ones used by Lighthooves, and that she’d been working for the Legate. Of course, that led to me talking about Cognitum running around the Hoof, proclaiming to be Security, and uniting the Hoof against a zebra threat that she and the Legate had manufactured… almost literally. The only mention I gave about Horizons was a nebulous reference to a superweapon on the moon, though.
我花了大约两个小时才让射手座相信我没有谋杀教授。教授背叛了他们。这些植入物可能包含了类似于lightthoves使用的杀人命令，而且她一直在为特使工作。当然，这让我想到了congonitum在Hoof周围跑来跑去，宣称自己是安全人员，联合Hoof对付她和使节制造的斑马威胁......几乎是字面意思。不过，我唯一提到的关于"地平线"号的内容，只是模糊地提到了月球上的超级武器。
And I didn’t make one mention of the Eater or who the Legate really was. Even I wasn’t that stupid.
我一个字也没提到食者或者使者到底是谁。我也没那么蠢。
When I finished, it seemed like everypony was sharing my headache. Calamity summed it up best. “Remember them good old days when the worst we had to worry ‘bout was raiders killin’ us and usin’ our insides fer decoration? I sure do miss them.”
当我结束的时候，似乎每匹小马都在分担我的头痛。灾难总结得最好。"还记得过去那些美好的日子吗?那时我们最担心的就是，袭击者会杀了我们，把我们的内脏当装饰品使用？我真的很想念他们。"
“They certainly do things big in the Hoof, that’s for sure,” Homage said with a slow nod in agreement. “Especially the crazy.”
"他们肯定在霍夫做了大事，这是肯定的,"霍梅说，慢慢点头表示同意。"尤其是那些疯狂的人。"
Sagittarius reached up and rubbed a thin scar on his temple. “Is it true, Virgo? Could these implants really be used for spying on us? Killing us?”
射手座伸手在太阳穴上擦了一道薄薄的伤疤。"这是真的吗，处女座？这些植入物真的可以用来监视我们吗？杀了我们?"
The young pink unicorn licked her lips and set a small plastic disk on the table. In it was something that looked like a huge... well... sperm. A flattened, round glob with tiny fuzzy hairs radiating out from a metal disk in the middle, attached to a long thin wire. “Well, I never thought about it till today, but... yes. They could. The implants have a low range broadcast field to coordinate their activities within a single body. Otherwise... well... things get ugly. It’s just like a PipBuck in that respect. But if you knew the frequency, you could do anything. Download data. You could also give the implants additional inputs. Accelerate the heart till it stops. Crippling migraines. Maybe even brain hemorrhage.”
小粉色的独角兽舔了舔嘴唇，在桌子上放了一个小塑料盘。里面的东西看起来像一个巨大的......嗯......精子。毛球一种扁平的圆形球状物，细小的绒毛从中间的金属盘辐射出来，附着在一根细长的金属线上。"嗯，直到今天我才想到这个问题，但是......是的。他们可以。植入物有一个低范围的广播场，以协调他们的活动在一个单一的身体。否则...嗯...事情就难看了。在这方面，它就像一个小不点。但是如果你知道频率，你可以做任何事情。下载数据。你也可以给植入物额外的输入。加速心脏直到停止跳动。严重的偏头痛。甚至可能是脑内出血。"
“Can you block it?” Sagittarius croaked. “We’ve put these implants in hundreds of folks. Maybe thousands.”
"你能屏蔽它吗?"射手座呱呱叫着。"我们已经在数百人身上植入了这些植入物。也许有几千人。"
“Like me,” Calamity said with a frown. “I’m mighty grateful to y’all fer fixin’ me up, but I sure don’t want muh heart ta blow up on account some zebra’s in a bad mood.”
"像我一样,"卡拉米特皱着眉头说。"非常感谢你们让我振作起来，但我肯定不希望我的心脏因为一些斑马心情不好而爆炸。"
“If they’re receiving, I could try to write a patch for them to ignore any additional input. If the implants malfunction, folks with the implants will have to come here to get them extracted and fixed. We won’t be able to adjust them remotely,” Virgo said with a small nod.
"如果他们收到了，我可以尝试编写一个补丁，让他们忽略任何额外的输入。如果植入物出现故障，植入物的人们将不得不来这里取出并修复它们。我们无法进行远程调整,"处女座轻轻点头说。
“I’m glad you’re not thinking of using this control yourself, Sagittarius,” Homage said, both in admiration but also with an edge of worry.
"我很高兴你没有考虑用这种方式控制自己，射手座,"霍梅说，他既钦佩又有些担心。
The green stallion waved a hoof. “The Zodiacs were founded to protect the Wasteland. This...” he looked at the implant in the plastic dish like it was a plate of roadapples. “She put these in us, all of us. I’ll take a pony in a fair fight. I won’t make him dance on the end of a wire.” He glanced at Homage. “Besides, you three know. No point in trying it, since you’d just tell everypony.”
那匹绿色的种马挥动着蹄子。"黄道带是用来保护荒原的。这个......"他看着塑料盘里的植入物，就好像它是一盘路旁的苹果。"她把这些放在我们身上，我们所有人。在公平的竞争中，我会选择一匹小马。我不会让他在钢丝上跳舞的。"他瞥了一眼《致敬》。""而且，你们三个知道。没有必要去尝试，因为你只会告诉每个人。"
“Y’all bet we would,” Calamity said with a look at Homage.
"你们都打赌我们会,"卡拉米特看着《致敬》说。
“Now can I please go?” I asked as I rose to my hooves. Tired. Sore. Hungry. Grumpy. Honestly, I was on the verge of just saying ‘buck it’ and running. Damn responsibility...
"现在我可以走了吗?"我一边问，一边站起来。累了。酸痛。饥饿。坏脾气。老实说，我几乎要说'振作起来'然后跑起来。该死的责任..。
Sagittarius raised a hoof, and I suppressed the urge to flash out of there. “Wait. Blackjack, if what you’re saying is true, then this is big. Really big. The Remnant went hostile all of a sudden just a few days ago. Months of them just
射手座抬起一只蹄子，我抑制住了想要闪出去的冲动。"等等。黑杰克，如果你说的是真的，那就是大事了。真的很大。就在几天前，例外人突然变得敌对起来。几个月的时间
sitting around, and suddenly they attack. The Harbingers are fighting back, but something’s been off from the start. When the Zodiacs fought these Brood things, we barely survived the engagement. And we’re good fighters. Even the Reapers are having it rough. The Harbingers are barely breaking a sweat. If you’re right and all this is a show, what happens if the show stops?” he asked gravely.
无所事事，然后突然袭击。"先驱者"正在反击，但从一开始就有些不对劲。当十二宫星座和魔龙军团作战时，我们几乎没有幸免于难。我们是优秀的战士。即使是收割者也很艰难。"先驱者"们几乎汗流浃背。如果你是对的，所有这一切都是一场表演，那么如果这场表演停止了，会发生什么?"他严肃地问道。
...Nasty things. “Worse case,” I said simply, “the Brood and Harbingers team up and curbstomp the Hoof into a bloody slurry. Slightly less worse, the Brood smash the Harbingers, then us.”
肮脏的东西。"更糟糕的是,"我简单地说,"布鲁德病毒和先驱者联合起来，把霍夫咬成了血淋淋的泥浆。"。稍微不那么糟糕的是，布鲁德一家打碎了先驱者，然后是我们。"
“So we’ve got to be ready when the tables turn, or we won’t have a chance,” Sagittarius said as he trotted over to a map marked with small colored magnets. The ring of red markers around the Hoof looked particularly ominous. “Blackjack. I’m going to need you to wait.”
"所以我们必须在形势逆转时做好准备，否则我们就没有机会了,"射手一边说，一边小跑着走向一张标有小块彩色磁铁的地图。霍夫周围的红色标记环看起来特别不祥。"黑杰克。我需要你等一下。"
Oh, fuck that. “I’ve waited months! I’m not going to–” I started to say.
去他妈的。"我已经等了几个月了！我不打算——"我开始说。
“Blackjack, think! If the other you really is part of this show, how long do you think it’ll last once she finds out you escaped? How long until the show ends and the killing starts?” he asked me. I stared at him, quivering. I could go. I could just teleport out before he bubbled me again. It hurt! He softened his tone. “Just give me a few hours. I’ll send out the Zodiacs to make contact with the other factions. We need to meet up. Organize. Discuss everything that’s going on.”
"黑杰克，好好想想！如果另一个你真的是这个节目的一部分，你认为一旦她发现你逃跑了，这会持续多久？离演出结束，杀戮开始还有多久?"他问我。我盯着他，颤抖着。我可以去。我可以在他再次吸我的血之前瞬移出去。好痛啊！他软化了语气。"给我几个小时。我会派遣黄道带去和其他派系取得联系。我们得见个面。组织。讨论所有正在发生的事情。"
Homage put a hoof on my shoulder. “Please, Blackjack.”
敬意，把蹄子放在我的肩上。"求你了，黑杰克。"
I glanced back at her and saw her gentle smile urging patience. She was going to be kept from LittlePip. She understood the frustration of being separated from the one you loved. As painful as it was, I couldn’t go rushing off. I had responsibilities. Duties. Obligations.
我回头看了她一眼，看到她温柔的微笑催促我要有耐心。她本来是要和小匹普分开的。她理解与你所爱的人分离的挫折感。虽然很痛苦，但我不能就这样匆匆离开。我有责任。职责。义务。
I hated every last one of them.
我恨他们每一个人。
I reared onto my hind legs and smacked my forehooves on the tabletop. “Fine. But I want the meeting in Chapel. We can meet in the remains of the Blueblood Manor. It should be a wide open and neutral place.” And hopefully Glory would be there. At which point, fuck the whole world. We’d be together forever and screw anyone who said otherwise!
我用后腿直立起来，前蹄撞在桌面上。"好吧。但是我想在教堂开会。我们可以在蓝血庄园的遗址见面。它应该是一个完全开放和中立的地方。"希望晨辉会在那里。这时候，整个世界都他妈见鬼去吧。我们会永远在一起，去他妈的任何否定我们的人！
Right?
对吧？
I didn’t stick around to hear the planning past that point. I left the conference room, feeling the knot of frustration inside me condense. I headed down the hall, out into the quad, and straight to the building blasted by the beam attack. It wasn’t just about me. It wasn’t just about Glory. This was bigger than any of us, certainly too big to ignore.
在那之后，我没有留下来听计划。我离开会议室，感觉到我内心的挫败感在凝结。我朝大厅走去，走到院子里，径直走向被光束袭击的建筑物。这不仅仅是关于我自己。这不仅仅是关于晨辉。这个问题比我们任何人都严重，当然也不容忽视。
Still, I had to let the frustration out, somehow. I screamed and cried in the rain, kicking my hooves and stomping the wreckage and lashing out with my magic. Broken debris was sent flying as I thrashed like a foal in a tantrum, accomplishing nothing but getting more tired, sore, cut, bruised, and angry. I went like a dervish through a burnt-out classroom, flipping tables and throwing chairs with my telekinesis. At one point, I even bit some waterlogged curtains and ripped them down with my bare teeth.
尽管如此，我还是不得不把沮丧发泄出来。我在雨中又哭又叫，踢着蹄子，跺着残骸，用我的魔法猛烈地扫射。当我像小马驹一样发脾气的时候，破碎的碎片飞了出来，什么也没有完成，只是越来越累、越来越疼、越来越伤、越来越青肿、越来越生气。我像一个苦行僧一样穿过烧毁的教室，用我的心灵遥感翻转桌子和扔椅子。有一次，我甚至咬了一些浸满水的窗帘，用光光的牙齿把它们扯下来。
All pointless... all futile... all keeping me from Glory.
一切都毫无意义...一切都是徒劳...一切都让我远离晨辉。
I still wasn't used to the limits of my new body, though. Strength left my muscles, and I sat down hard in a puddle in the midst of the gutted structure. My tantrum had been a pitiful amount of destruction compared to the devastation that the one beam from the Core had wrought. The kind of destruction Cognitum could do...
尽管如此，我还是不习惯我新身体的极限。力量离开了我的肌肉，我艰难地坐在一个水坑中间的内脏结构。与核心星系发出的光束所造成的破坏相比，我的愤怒只是可怜的破坏程度。认识力可以造成的破坏..。
It was all so much bigger than me.
这一切都比我大多了。
“If it helps, I really do think you are Blackjack,” Homage said as she trotted into the ruins. “And I think that Glory will believe you are, too.”
"如果有帮助的话，我真的认为你是黑杰克,"霍瑞迈一边走进废墟一边说。"我想晨辉也会相信你的。"
“You’re more sure than I am, Homage. I really didn’t expect this,” I said as I stared down into my own reflection, looking at eyes that I hadn’t seen in months. “Something Cognitum did hurt Glory. I think that when they met, Glory asked her to prove herself. Some question... some something... and she did. And then she hurt her.”
"你比我更有把握，敬意。我真的没想到会这样,"我说着，低头看着自己的倒影，看着几个月没见过的眼睛。"认知的某些东西确实伤害了荣誉。我想当他们相遇的时候，晨辉要求她证明自己。一些问题...一些事情...她做到了。然后她伤害了她。"
The gray unicorn walked over to me. “And when you tell her, whatever pain she inflicted will be shifted to Cognitum, where it belongs. But it’s not just that, is it?” Homage asked as she sat in the puddle beside me. “I noticed that you never once mentioned killing your old body to stop her.”
灰色的独角兽向我走来。"当你告诉她，无论她造成了什么样的痛苦，都会转移到属于她的Cognitum。但问题不仅仅在于此，不是吗?"她坐在我旁边的水坑里，向我致敬。"我注意到你从来没有提到过为了阻止她而杀死自己的身体。"
Crap. I was too exhausted to fight it. “I’m pregnant. My old body, I mean.” Her eyes widened in shock. I turned my face to the rain. “I keep feeling like I’m going to lose everything. Not die. Fuck dying... I’m not afraid of that. But that I’m losing things that... that I can’t really bear to lose. That I’m going to fuck it all up. And I’m terrified of what’s going to happen. Will Cognitum abort my baby? If she wins, will she raise the child as her own? What about Glory and P-21? What about Scotch Tape? What about LittlePip and you?” I asked, facing her and seeing the shock on her face. “If Cognitum wins, she won’t just ignore the S.P.P. I don’t know if she can get LittlePip, but I know she’ll try.”
该死。我已经筋疲力尽，无法与之抗争。"我怀孕了。我的意思是我的旧身体。"她震惊地睁大了眼睛。我把脸转向雨。"我一直觉得我会失去一切。不要死。去他妈的死亡...我不怕那个。但是我正在失去一些...我真的不能忍受失去的东西。我会把一切都搞砸。我很害怕接下来会发生什么。科涅塔姆会打掉我的孩子吗？如果她赢了，她会把孩子当自己的孩子抚养吗？那么晨辉和P-21呢？透明胶带怎么样？那小皮和你呢?"我问道，面对着她，看着她脸上的震惊。"如果认知力获胜，她不会无视标准普尔，我不知道她能否得到小匹普，但我知道她会努力的。"
Homage’s face hardened. “I had no idea,” she said as she peered through the ruins at the dim outline of the Core. “We’ve barely heard anything about what’s been going on here. Since this storm started, some interference has been blocking LittlePip’s control of the towers here and my access to the MASEBS. We came for Calamity, but I personally was also worried about what was actually going on in the Hoof.”
表达敬意的脸变得僵硬。"我不知道,"她说，她凝视着废墟中模糊的核心轮廓。"我们几乎没有听说过这里发生了什么。自从这场风暴开始，一些干扰已经阻止了小匹普控制这里的塔和我进入MASEBS。我们是为了卡拉米蒂而来，但我个人也很担心霍夫到底发生了什么。"
“Crazy times,” I said, shaking my head.
"疯狂的时代,"我摇着头说。
“Tell me about it.” She sighed, flipping her sodden mane out of her eyes. “I mean... I know I was pretty cheery on my last broadcast after the big battle. But... well...” She tapped her hooves together.
"告诉我吧。"她叹了口气，把湿透了的头发甩出了眼睛。"我的意思是......我知道，在大战之后的最后一次广播中，我非常高兴。但是......好吧......"她用蹄子轻轻敲了敲。
“Aren’t you supposed to be Honesty?” I asked with a smirk.
"你不是应该很诚实吗?"我傻笑着问。
“There’s honesty, and then there’s Honesty!” Homage countered with a frown. “I told everyone everything was alright because I hoped that, after the S.P.P. was under LittlePip’s control, things would calm down. Get back to some normalcy. And it wasn’t an outright lie. Things are better out west. Kinda. Order’s returning, communities are working together, there are already a few attempts at agriculture, and raider activity is starting what seems to be a steady decline. And on a personal note, Calamity’s getting better, and Life Bloom thinks that, with the implants, he might actually recover fully. So while everything’s not quite as peachy as I said it was on my broadcast, it’s still much better than it was.”
"先是诚实，然后是诚实!"表示敬意的同时也皱起了眉头。"我告诉每个人一切都很好，因为我希望，在皮普控制了小皮普之后，事情会平静下来。回到正常的生活。这并不是一个彻头彻尾的谎言。西部的情况更好。算是吧。秩序正在恢复，社区正在合作，农业方面已经有了一些尝试，掠夺者的活动开始稳步下降。就个人而言，灾难正在好转，LifeBloom认为，通过植入，他可能会完全康复。因此，尽管一切并不像我在广播中说的那么美好，但仍然比以前好得多。"
“Except out here,” I said, looking to the Core once again.
"除了这里,"我说，再次望向核心。
“Yeah. Except a lot of places. Things are settling out mostly around the area of Junction Town, really. A bit in Manehattan. Everywhere else... well... it’s going to take some time.” She forced a grin. “Till then, got to keep people’s spirits up
"是的。除了很多地方。事实上，大部分的事情都发生在章克申镇附近。在Manehattan有一点。其它任何地方......嗯......都需要一些时间。"她勉强挤出一个笑容。"在那之前，要让人们振作起来
and put a positive spin on things, right?”
把事情往好的方面想，对吗?"
“Right,” I said as I stared at the black towers, lightning flickering and dancing around them every few seconds. Even this far out, the tang of ozone was so strong that I could taste it faintly on my tongue. “So what is everypony doing?” I asked in lieu of things like ‘When can I get out of here and back to Glory?’ “Velvet’s using the alicorns Apogee, Perigee, and Ghostshine to send Zodiacs to the major parties. Calamity’s going to have a chat with the pegasi... and I really hope that that goes well. Life Bloom is contacting the Twilight Society to bring them up to speed. I got a message to LittlePip,” she said as she regarded her broadcaster. “Text packets are the only thing getting through the interference. She’s working with Celestia to come up with a solution.” She glanced up at me. “She also tells you to hold on. It’ll be okay.”
"是的,"我盯着那些黑色的塔楼说，闪电每隔几秒钟就在它们周围跳动一次。即使在这么远的地方，臭氧的味道还是那么强烈，我甚至可以在舌头上微弱地闻到它的味道。"那么，每匹小马都在干什么呢?"我问的不是诸如'我什么时候能离开这里回到晨辉"Velvet正在利用远地点、Perigee和Ghostshine派遣星座去主要的聚会。卡拉米蒂将与飞马座进行一次交谈......我真心希望一切顺利。生命之花正在联系暮光协会，让他们了解最新情况。我收到了一条给小匹普的信息,"她一边说一边看着播音员。"文本数据包是唯一能够通过干扰的东西。她正在和Celestia一起想办法解决这个问题。"她抬头看了我一眼。"她还告诉你要坚持下去。会没事的。"
I felt a little relief at that. LittlePip was probably the only pony outside of my friends who had a clue what I was going through. Homage balked a moment. “What?”
这让我松了一口气。小匹普可能是除了我的朋友之外，唯一一匹知道我经历了什么的小马。致敬犹豫了一会儿。"什么?"
“Nothing. I–” she started to say.
"没什么。我......"她开始说。
“Don’t start ‘Honestying’ me right now, Homage,” I said a little more harshly than I should have. “Not now.”
"现在不要说'老实话'，敬意,"我说得有点过分了。"现在不行。"
She balked again, then caved. “We contacted the Society at Elysium as soon as you left. To tell Triage about all of this and find out what Cognitum is doing. Cognitum’s left for the Luna Space Center with only a hoofful of ponies.” She hesitated, and I stared right at her. “Glory’s returning to Star House.”
她又犹豫了一下，然后屈服了。"你一离开，我们就联系了极乐空间协会。告诉分诊所有这一切，并找出什么认知是做什么。科涅塔姆留在月神太空中心，只有一群小马。"她犹豫了一下，我直勾勾地盯着她。"晨辉回归星宫"
My mind snapped. On one hoof, my enemy, my baby, and my body. On the other, my friends and the ponies I loved. If I could get the Zodiacs, Calamity, Velvet, the alicorns... maybe we could take my body back. Maybe Virgo could take Cognitum out and put me in. Maybe... and on the other hoof, I knew where Glory was going to be. I could leave right now. The plan was already in motion. The others didn’t need me! I could go and be in her embrace again and talk and make it all better.
我的思想崩溃了。一只蹄子，我的敌人，我的孩子，我的身体。另一方面，我的朋友和我爱的小马。如果我能得到黄道带，灾难，天鹅绒，橡树果...也许我们可以把我的身体带回去。也许处女座可以带上Cognitum把我放进去。也许...另一方面，我知道晨辉会在哪里。我现在就可以离开。计划已经在进行中了。其他人不需要我！我可以回到她的怀抱，和她谈谈，让一切都好起来。
It was enough to drive a mare mad.
这足以使一匹母马发疯。
I stood and trotted through the rain towards the nearest blackened wall, pressed
我站在那里，小跑着穿过雨水，奔向最近的一堵漆黑的墙
my forehooves against it, and banged my head. Each strike seemed to resonate with a word: Cognitum. Glory. Responsibility. Baby. P-21. Everypony. Revenge. Love. Responsibility. Over and over I struck my head against the wall, hearing Homage speak vaguely in tones of amusement, then worry, then alarm. I took all those words rolling in my head and reduced every single one to pain. When she pulled me off the wall, I fell on my back, letting the cool rain pour over my aching skull.
我的前蹄撞到了它，撞到了我的头。每一击似乎都与一个词产生共鸣:Cognitum。晨辉。责任。宝贝。P-21.每匹小马。复仇。爱。责任。我一遍又一遍地把头往墙上撞，听到敬意含糊地说着有趣的话，然后是担心，然后是惊慌。我记住了那些在我脑海中翻滚的话语，把每一个都变成了痛苦。当她把我从墙上拉下来的时候，我仰面倒在地上，让凉爽的雨水倾泻在我疼痛的头骨上。
“Are you okay?” Homage asked in alarm, staring down at me.
"你还好吗?"敬意惊恐地问道，低头看着我。
“There was one time I was okay. This isn’t it,” I muttered, now feeling like a complete idiot. Ponies like me didn’t get to be okay. Still, I’d been successful: I was lying here and not trying to race off in two directions at once. I’d see Glory soon. Really soon. Then we’d say what needed to be said. Do what needed to be done. I struggled to my hooves. “I want that purple alicorn to take me to Chapel,” I said as I swayed and fell against her.
"有一次我还好。"不是这样的,"我喃喃自语，现在感觉自己像个十足的白痴。像我这样的小马是不会好起来的。尽管如此，我还是成功了:我躺在这里，没有试图同时朝两个方向跑去。我很快就能见到晨辉了。真的很快。然后我们会说需要说的话。做需要做的事情。我挣扎着用蹄子。"我要那个紫色的独角兽带我去教堂,"我说着，摇摆着身子靠在她身上。
“You need a healing potion,” Homage said flatly. I groaned and shook my head stubbornly, and the gray pony sighed and said in worry, “Blackjack, Ghostshine can do it, but what about–”
"你需要一种治疗药剂,""敬意"平淡地说。我呻吟着，顽固地摇着头，那匹灰色的小马叹了口气，担心地说:"Blackjack，Ghostshine可以做到，但是......"
“Everypony will be meeting at the manor, no matter what. By that time, I’m pretty sure that the final showdown will be beginning anyway,” I said as I looked at the two of her as they wavered, merged, and separated again. “If you don’t take me, I’ll start teleporting myself. It’ll probably take fifty tries to get there, but I’ll do it. And I’ll walk if I don’t,” I told her evenly.
"不管怎样，每个小马都会在庄园里见面。到那时，我相当肯定，最后的决战无论如何都会开始。"我看着她的两个人，他们动摇了，合并了，又分开了。"如果你不带我去，我就开始瞬移自己。可能要试五十次才能到那里，不过我会去的。如果我不走，我就走路,"我平静地告诉她。
She stared into my eyes for several long seconds. “I’ll see to it.”
她盯着我的眼睛看了好几秒钟。"我会处理的。"
* * *
* * *
‘Seeing to it’ took another intolerable fifteen minutes, but finally Velvet Remedy, the three alicorns, and I all teleported to Star House, after Velvet worked more magic on my skull. As soon as we walked in, I teared up. The familiar wooden walls. The old, worn furniture. The smell of time and family. I peered around, almost expecting all my friends to be there. Of course, they weren’t. It’d take time for them to get from Elysium to Chapel, however they were travelling. If I left, I’d very likely miss them.
看到它又花了15分钟的时间，但是最后，在维尔维特在我的头骨上施了更多的魔法之后，维尔维特补救法，三个橡子，和我都被传送到了星星之家。我们一走进去，我就热泪盈眶。熟悉的木墙。破旧的家具。时间和家庭的味道。我环顾四周，几乎以为我所有的朋友都会在那里。当然，他们不是。不管他们在哪里旅行，从极乐世界到教堂都需要时间。如果我离开，我很可能会想念他们。
How long had it been since I’d last been here? The party with Dawn, wasn’t it?
我上次来这里是什么时候？和道恩的聚会，是吗？
“I’ve got some work to do, Blackjack. You’ll stay here, right?” Velvet asked.
"我还有工作要做，Blackjack。你会留在这里，对吗?"维尔韦特问道。
“Yes. Right here. Safe and sound,” I murmured absently as I slowly walked through the house. When Velvet closed the door, the sound made me jump. I looked about at the neatness. Glory’s doing, no doubt. I walked to the fridge and found Sparkle-Cola, bottles of water, and milk inside. In one of the cupboards was a box of Sugar Apple Bombs. I levitated a bowl over, filling it and listening to the powder-covered red bits tinkling against the ceramic. Then I added brahmin milk and levitated the bowl to the table. Slowly, I slipped into the seat, and... and...
"是的。就在这儿。"安然无恙,"我一边慢慢地穿过房子，一边心不在焉地喃喃说。当维尔维特关上门的时候，那声音让我吓了一跳。我环顾四周，看着整洁。毫无疑问，光荣正在发挥作用。我走到冰箱前，发现里面有可乐、瓶装水和牛奶。其中一个橱柜里有一盒糖苹果炸弹。我把一只碗悬浮起来，装满水，听着沾满粉末的红色碎片在陶瓷上叮当作响。然后我加入了婆罗门牛奶，把碗悬浮在桌子上。我慢慢地钻进座位然后..。
I watched my cereal darken and get soggy. A spoon lay unattended, jutting out to the side. I pressed my hooves to my head as the normalcy began to crush me beneath its hoof. I clenched my eyes shut as tears ran down my cheeks. Oh Celestia, it was too much! Cognitum flashed in my memory. My baby. Shadowbolt Tower exploding. Fighting Hades. I curled over as if the weight of everything I’d been through over the last day crushed me down. Too much! Too much!
我看着我的麦片变黑变湿。一个勺子无人看管地放在那里，突出在一边。我把蹄子贴在头上，正常的生活开始把我踩在脚下。我紧闭双眼，泪水顺着脸颊流下。哦，塞莱斯蒂亚，这太过分了！认知在我的记忆中闪现。我的宝贝。暗影螺栓塔爆炸。战斗的地狱。我蜷缩着身子，好像昨天所经历的一切压垮了我。太多了！太多了！
I wasn’t okay. I wasn’t sure I could ever be okay.
我一点都不好。我不知道我能不能好起来。
“Breathe, Blackjack,” I whispered to myself, and I focused on that as my heart hammered in my chest. Air in. Air out. Focus on that. A small thing. A normal thing. Something I could do now. “Calm down,” I said next, hearing my heart thunder in my ears and imagining I could turn down a dial. Do not throw things. Do not hurt yourself again. Breathe. Calm.
"呼吸，黑杰克,"我低声对自己说，当我的心脏在胸膛里砰砰跳动的时候，我集中注意力在这上面。空气进入。通风。把注意力放在这上面。一件小事。这很正常。这是我现在能做的。"冷静,"我接着说，听到我的心在我的耳朵里打雷，想象着我可以调低一个表盘。不要乱扔东西。不要再伤害自己了。深呼吸。冷静。
Fifteen minutes later, I could finally take a bite of soggy cereal.
十五分钟后，我终于可以吃一口潮湿的麦片了。
Then Glory walked in.
然后晨辉走了进来。
Just like that. The gray pegasus opened the door and trotted in, her eyes sunken and darkened, face drawn and taut. She wore her dragonhide leather jacket as if she owned it, and Pew-Pew lay holstered at her hoof. My spoon hovered an inch from my mouth as I stared at her. She shook out her long purple mane, eyes still on the floor. Then she raised her head and saw me. Her eyes locked onto mine, and time stopped.
就这样。灰色的飞马打开门，小跑着进来，她的眼睛凹陷着，阴沉着，脸拉得紧紧的。她穿着她那件龙皮革夹克，好像它是她自己的似的，而皮尤-皮尤把皮套放在她的蹄子上。我盯着她的时候，我的勺子离我的嘴只有一英寸。她抖了抖长长的紫色鬃毛，眼睛还在地板上。然后她抬起头，看见了我。她的眼睛紧盯着我，时间停止了。
I don’t know how long we were like that. Seconds? Eternities? The blob of cereal on my spoon quivered and then plopped back into the bowl, followed a
我不知道我们这样多久了。第二次？永恒？我勺子上的一团麦片颤抖了一下，然后扑通一声放回碗里，接着又是一片麦片粥
second later by the spoon itself. Glory’s eyes bored into me, pupils constricting as she seemed to wind tighter and tighter. Say something, Blackjack, I hissed to myself. Something. Anything!
第二个是勺子本身。晨辉的眼睛无聊地盯着我，瞳孔收缩着，好像风越吹越紧似的。说点什么吧，黑杰克，我自言自语道。一些东西。什么都行！
The corner of my mouth curled up in desperate hope. “Um... hi.”
我绝望地翘起嘴角。"嗯......嗨。"
She smiled, and for an instant everything was alright. Somehow, I’d make everything good again. But her smile didn’t stop. It became a grimace. Then there were tears springing down her cheeks as she screamed at the top of her lungs, “Get out!”
她笑了，一瞬间，一切都好了。无论如何，我会让一切重新好起来。但是她的微笑并没有停止。它变成了一个鬼脸。然后泪水顺着她的脸颊流了下来，她用最大的声音尖叫着:"滚出去!"
 
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Author's Notes:
作者笔记:
(Author’s notes: Bleaah. Real life really waged war with this chapter. I’d hoped to get it out week before last, but real life took out my editors. Then last week, I was away for a con. This week, I’m sick. So stick a fork in it and get it out! Horrible chapter, and so frustrating. Looking back at the last 3 chapters, I really wish I’d had Glory, P-21, and Scotch Tape there. Then so many things popped up that delayed BJ and I was just as frustrated at the pacing...
(作者笔记:Bleaah。现实生活确实与这一章发生了冲突。我本来希望在上个星期出版，但是现实生活把我的编辑都干掉了。然后上个星期，我去参加一个骗局。这个星期，我病了。所以用叉子把它叉出来吧！糟糕的一章，令人沮丧。回顾最后三章，我真希望我有晨辉，P-21，和透明胶带。然后突然出现了这么多事情，延迟了BJ的到来，我只是在节奏上感到沮丧..。
Sigh. Always trying to find ways to improve.
叹息。总是试图找到改进的方法。
Anyway! A little further on in the story. Thanks everyone for reading. Huge thanks to Kkat for creating FoE and thanks to Hinds, Bronode, swicked, and Heartshine for their hard work these last few weeks. I’ve only had 2 interviews this summer for work so if folks want to help out, bits through Paypal at David13ushey@gmail.com would be hugely appreciated. Thanks to everyone that helped me get to Everfree Northwest. I had a wonderful time and it was wonderful to meet everyone I did!) (PS: Con crud sucks butt...)
不管怎样！在这个故事里再往前一点。感谢大家的阅读。非常感谢Kkat创造了地球之友，也非常感谢Hinds、Bronode、swichted和Heartshine在过去几周的辛勤工作。今年夏天我只接受了两次面试，所以如果大家想帮忙的话，请通过贝宝在david13ushey@gmail.com进行小小的支付。感谢所有帮助我来到EverfreeNorthwest的人。我度过了一段美好的时光，能遇到我遇到的每一个人真是太棒了!)(附言:骗局烂透了...)
(Heartshine: Yeah, the delay is sort of my fault because I moved and then decided to drag Somber up to Seattle for shenanigans at Everfree Northwest. Somber’s a great friend, and I was glad that I was able to meet him. I keep telling him he needs to look for jobs up here, so at least he’d have friends to see after teaching. But everypony send positive thoughts his
(心亮:是的，延误是我的错，因为我搬家了，然后决定把Somber拖到西雅图，在EverfreeNorthwest搞恶作剧。严肃是一个很好的朋友，我很高兴能够见到他。我一直告诉他，他需要在这里找工作，这样至少他在教书之后还有朋友可以看看。但是每个人都给他带来了积极的想法
way!)
方式!)
Bronode: Or money. Money works too.
布罗诺德:或者钱。金钱也是有效的。
(Hinds: I was a bit dissatisfied with Virgo’s explanation of the implant stuff and wrote some replacements. I was then informed that, while my versions were indeed more technically accurate, they would have left most of the attendant ponies rather uncomprehending; the not-smart-pony explanation was desired. For any interested parties, though, here are the things I made: "Well, I never thought about it till today, but... yes. They could. The implants have short range networking capability to coordinate their activities with needing even more invasive and complicated wired connections. Even in case where those connections are used, the wireless networking capability is still present, just inactive, due to the standardization of parts. The system is pretty robust where random interference is concerned and is even designed minimize the damage caused by pulse weaponry, but if somepony knew exactly the right way to get in and manipulate it… they could do anything. Upload every bit of data the implants can gather. Or download new programming or commands. Take control of cybernetic limbs. Accelerate the heart until it gives out if the pony still has one; shut down the blood pump if they don't. Cause crippling migraines, or maybe even brain hemorrhage… The details depend on exactly what implants a pony has, but there's a lot of damage cracking the system could do to even a minimally augmented pony."
(Hinds:我对处女座关于植入物的解释有点不满意，所以写了一些补充说明。然后我被告知，虽然我的版本在技术上确实更准确，但它们会让大多数随行的小马相当不理解;不聪明的小马解释是理想的。不过，对于任何感兴趣的团体，这里是我做的东西:"嗯，我从来没有想过，直到今天，但是......是的。他们可以。这种植入物具有短距离的网络能力，可以协调它们的活动，甚至需要更具侵入性和复杂的有线连接。即使在使用这些连接的情况下，由于部件的标准化，无线网络能力仍然存在，只是不活跃。考虑到随机干扰，这个系统非常强大，甚至在设计上将脉冲武器造成的破坏降到最低，但是如果有人知道正确的方法进入并操纵它...他们可以做任何事情。上传植入物能收集到的所有数据。或者下载新的编程或命令。控制控制论的四肢。如果小马仍然有心脏，就加速心脏跳动直到心脏跳出;如果没有，就关闭血泵。导致严重的偏头痛，甚至可能是脑内出血......具体细节取决于一匹小马的植入物是什么，但是即使是最小程度的增强型小马，这个系统也会造成很大的破坏。"
"I could try to write a patch to make the implants to ignore any additional input," Virgo said thoughtfully, "and send it out over the radio network, but that would be taking advantage of the same vulnerabilities we're trying to fix. And if the professor really was using them like this, she might have put in defenses that I'd have to get through. She's more familiar with the system than me, too. It would be easier if I could connect to the implants directly, and that would be the only way to make it work if I'm completely locked out of wireless access. I'd need the ponies with them to come here for that, though.") swicked: ...and I have nothing to add! Goodnight everybody!
Virgo深思熟虑地说:"我可以尝试编写一个补丁，让植入忽略任何额外的输入，然后通过无线电网络发送出去，但这将利用我们正在努力解决的同样的漏洞。"。如果教授真的像这样使用它们，她可能会设置一些防御措施，我必须穿过它们。她也比我更熟悉这个系统。如果我可以直接连接到植入物，那就更容易了，如果我被完全锁定在无线连接之外，这将是唯一的办法使它工作。不过，我需要那些小马和它们一起到这里来。")我没有什么要补充的了！大家晚安！
(additional note from Hinds on 2014-07-16: swicked has commented that he has a few problems with the above paragraphs and would have raised them if the paragraphs had been otherwise accepted. The reader is advised that flaws may exist.)
(Hinds在2014-07-16附注:swiched评论说，他对上述段落有一些问题，如果其他段落被接受，他会提出这些问题。读者被告知可能存在缺陷。)